GM abandoning 'Ultium' branding for batteries, technology amidst EV shifts.

• GM will abandon the brand "Ultium" for its electric vehicle batteries and related technologies after years of promoting it.
• The name "Ultium" will no longer be used, but the batteries and technologies will remain.
• In 2021 and 2022, GM invested heavily in marketing and advertising Ultium, spending millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads.

Detroit will abandon the brand "Ultium" for its electric vehicle batteries and related technologies after years of promoting it, as it reevaluates its EV and battery operations.

On Tuesday, the Detroit automaker announced the switch ahead of an investor event where GM will discuss the change.

The company's flexibility to produce both traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines and EVs is being showcased through its commitment to EVs, despite slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles.

Despite GM's billions of dollars invested in developing "Ultium" batteries and technologies, the automaker's EV business remains unprofitable.

The company announced that the batteries and technologies will remain, but the name "Ultium" will not be used in any other areas except for production operations such as its "Ultium Cells" joint venture plants with LG Energy Solution.

The company announced that it will stop branding its electric vehicle architecture, battery and cells, and EV components with the Ultium name in North America as it expands its EV business.

GM has been reevaluating its EV battery strategy due to shifting market conditions and the addition of new executives, including JP Clausen, who now heads GM manufacturing, and Kurt Kelty, GM's vice president of battery.

Despite a 60% year-over-year increase in EV sales during the third quarter, GM's total third-quarter sales were only 32,100 units, which represents only 4.9% of the company's total sales.

GM is now shifting away from its initial Ultium pouch cells, which were manufactured with LG using nickel manganese cobalt, and towards other battery types and chemistries.

Samsung SDI, a competitor of LG, has partnered with General Motors (GM) in a $3 billion deal to produce prismatic batteries for hard-can use.

"Kelty stated in a report published Monday by The Information that the company is shifting from a single-source, single-form factor, single-chemistry approach to a multi-chemistry, multi-form factor, multi-supplier strategy. The focus going forward will be on optimizing for each vehicle."

After investing millions of dollars in marketing and advertising, including Super Bowl ads for Ultium vehicles that were not yet available for purchase, the automaker is now turning to optimization strategy.

Rory Harvey, GM president of global markets, including North America, recently confirmed to CNBC that the company is reevaluating its plans for a second all-electric vehicle plant in Orion Township, Michigan, including production and the entire supply chain.

We always receive lessons and learning," he stated last month. "The reason for our approach with Orion is that, as you can see, the original gradient of EV adoption was more aggressive than it currently is, both in the industry and from our perspective.

"Can we do a stop breath and refocus to determine what is appropriate for customers' demands today?"

The Orion plant, originally planned to be the second factory producing EVs exclusively for GM in the U.S. by the end of 2024, has been delayed by at least a year.