(Yicai Global) June 4 -- General Motors plans to introduce its third-generation electric vehicle development platform into the Chinese market to locally produce all of its EVs' core parts and is likely to cooperate on that with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest power battery maker.

The US auto giant is eyeing opportunities to work with suppliers in China, Julian Blissett, who became GM China president in April and has visited Fujian-based CATL, told Yicai Global yesterday. GM may cooperate with CATL to reduce the costs and compliance risks of bringing the new platform to China, he said.

The Detroit-based auto giant unveiled its BEV3 third-generation architecture, based on which all GM EV models will be built, and a new battery system Ultium in March. GM has started building the power storage device's mass production plant in the US together with South Korea’s LG Chem.

GM will invest USD20 billion in automotive electrification and automation projects in the next five years and spend 50 percent of its global resources on electrification projects, Chief Executive Mary Barra said while introducing the new platform.

GM's growth has been discouraging in recent years. It is gradually losing ground to traditional rivals such as Volkswagen and Toyota Motor with a 10.7 percent annual fall in its global vehicle sales volume last year. GM has gradually pulled out from various overseas markets, including Africa, the Middle East and India to transform its business. It is targeting China and the US for future growth.

The company will face tough competition from EV giant Tesla. Tesla is plotting co-development of a low-cost, long-life battery with CATL, with which it hopes to fit its made-in-China Tesla Model 3 at the end of this year or early next year, Reuters reported last month.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Ben Armour