Lansing, Delta Township officials meet to discuss potential GM battery plant

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - City officials in Lansing met Monday night to either approve or deny a proposal which would allow a GM battery plant to be built in Delta Township.

The plant could determine whether or not GM continues to see Lansing -- and potentially Michigan -- in its future plans.

Update: Lansing City Council unanimously votes in favor of moving forward with potential GM battery plant

With the Big Three moving toward electric vehicles, a battery plant in Lansing would be a big win for the city.

With Ford Motor Company’s recent decision to build their battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee, some believe a GM plant in Lansing is a necessity in order to retain the future of the auto industry in Michigan.

City officials from Lansing and the Delta Township Board of Trustees will be working on amending a plan to renew an agreement on the current property where the factory sits, as well as the land where the new factory would be built.

Related: GM’s latest investment: develop next-generation battery facility in Michigan

Bob Trezise, the president of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, said he thinks the battery plants are going to be central hubs for car production. Due to the size and weight of the batteries themselves, auto makers need them to be close to their factories.

“We really think that in some respects these electric battery plants are now the center to the hub,” Trezise said. “The assembly plants are crucial -- obviously -- but we think that the new life is about these new electric battery plants.”

Other states are working on their own proposals to attract the GM battery plant too.

Another thing Trezise emphasized is that when factories do well, so do the surrounding businesses.

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