This week GM announced another major gamble -- it will be pouring money into producing its electric motors itself.  Engines are very complex and electric car motors are no exception.  But GM is confident it's on the right track.

The company will pour $129M USD into a White Marsh, Maryland plant which will build GM's electric-vehicle motors – the move will add 200 jobs.  The Department of Energy is chipping half of the development costs, drawn from a $105M USD EV grant GM previously received.

GM also plans to manufacture the battery packs itself (though it will source the production of actual cells to LG Chem) at a Brownstown, Michigan plant.  In total GM has received $241M USD in government grants to boost its EV program, a large sum that does seem a bit smaller when compared to the $750M USD that the GM spent to develop the Volt.

The company has electric motor facilities in Wixom, Pontiac, Indianapolis, Maryland and California and has added 100 electric motor engineers since 2003.  GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens states, "In the future, electric motors might become as important to GM as engines are now.  By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight: two significant challenges facing batteries today."

It does plan to purchase electric motors from suppliers in the short term to satisfy Volt production needs, while it brings its own facility online.  The first generation Volts will contain a motor from a third-party, though GM hasn't aired its supplier yet.

GM plans to spin off Volt variants in Europe and elsewhere following the U.S. launch of the Volt in November of this year.  A Cadillac electric -- the Cadillac Converj -- is also being readied for production. 

GM's moves are certainly risky, but for a company down on its luck, perhaps taking some risks is necessary.  If GM's in-house electric gamble pays off, it stands to pocket the lion's share of profits from EV sales.