GM charts "path toward U.S. EV leadership" with $7 billion factory push

GM is making the largest investment in company history in its home state of Michigan, with plans to spend $7 billion to convert a factory to make electric pickups and to build a new battery cell plant, AP reports.

Why it matters: GM is rolling the dice on Americans converting from internal combustion engines to battery power.

The big picture: The moves — announced Tuesday in Lansing, the state capital — will create up to 4,000 jobs, and keep another 1,000 already employed at an underutilized assembly plant north of Detroit.

What they're saying: CEO Mary Barra said the investment will make Michigan "the epicenter of the electric vehicle industry."

• "Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade," she added in a statement.