Photo of the Spark EV battery production line courtesy of GM.

Photo of the Spark EV battery production line courtesy of GM.

The 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV will get a lighter, smaller battery for its second model year, as General Motors consolidates electric battery production at its Brownstown, Mich., assembly plant.

The 2015 Spark EV battery will weigh 474 pounds, or 86 pounds less than GM's initial 2014 model. The new battery offers a storage capacity of 19 kilowatts per hour and uses 192 lithium-ion cells supplied by LG Chem. The battery had previously been provided by outside supplier A123 Systems.

The 2015 Spark EV battery is expected to retain its EPA-rated 82 miles of range and 119 miles per gallon equivalent.

The Spark EV battery will now be built on a dedicated production line at Brownstown, which also manufactures battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt, Open Ampera, and Cadillac ELR. In April, General Motors announced it would invest $65 million in the assembly plant to support next-generation battery systems.

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