Magna developing specialized team dedicated to electric vehicles

Diversified auto supplier Magna International Inc. said it will set up a new electric vehicle center at its U.S. headquarters as it aims to have its electric powertrain system ready for production for trucks from 2025.

In a news release, the Canadian supplier said its U.S. headquarters in Troy, Mich., near Detroit, would be home to a "specialized team dedicated to preparing" the company's EtelligentForce powertrain to have it ready for production from 2025, in addition to "other EV products." Other details about the new EV center were not immediately known.

The creation of the EV center underscores the importance of electrification technologies to Magna as its customers prepare to launch dozens of electric vehicles in the coming years, including pickups.

EtelligentForce, Magna's battery-electric, four-wheel-drive powertrain system, is designed specifically for pickups and light commercial vehicles and is capable of towing up to 14,500 pounds, according to the company. The system will use Magna's "eBeam technology," which would replace traditional axles, "accommodating existing suspension and brake systems and avoiding the need for expensive redesign of existing truck platforms," the supplier said in a news release.

"EtelligentForce comes at a pivotal time -- particularly in the North American auto industry, where pickup trucks are at their height of popularity and one of the last segments to become fully electric," Magna Powertrain President Tom Rucker said in a statement.

Magna's announcement came on the day it was originally scheduled to deliver a press conference at CES. The company withdrew from the Las Vegas show late last month amid rising COVID-19 cases resulting from the omicron coronavirus variant.