2590 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 3L3, Canada
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Dealership hours of operation
Mon - Fri 7:30AM - 5:00PM
Sat 7:30AM - 4:30PM
Sun Closed
Dealership hours of operation
Mon - Fri 8:00AM - 5:00PM
Sat 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Sun Closed
Dealership hours of operation
Mon - Fri 8:00AM - 5:00PM
Sat - Sun Closed
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Why GM?

For an interactive EV experience with trained EV experts: try EV Live

WHY GM?

A lot of people forget that GM was the first company to mass-produce an Electric Vehicle. From the head-turning GM concept car The Impact in 1990 was born the EV1 in 1996. The Cult Classic car, the EV1 was an unfortunate casualty of being before its time, but we're back and better than ever.

At Laird Wheaton we want to honour our roots and acknowledge what really got us here. GM and EVs are not star-crossed lovers, fated to never be: we were always here researching, developing, and perfecting our craft starting with the oft forgotten GMC trucks from the early 1900s, extending today to powerhouses like the Hummer EV. People are ready for electric, we've squashed our part sourcing issues that came with the EV1, we've ironed out the bugs, and it's time to shine. With an ultra-powerful new lineup, GM is poised to go back to our roots in a big way.

Electric is here to stay now, and we're powering the future one EV at a time. Come talk to us about how to spark your electric journey.

Let's gob ack in time a bit...

EVs in the
the early 1900s??

A history lesson

That's right, EVs were actually invented before the mass production of ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles... so what happened?

Well unfortunately for EVs, Henry Ford introduced the Model T (no, Elon Musk didn't just invent that name for Tesla), the first mass produced internal combustion vehicle.

This marked a shift in the vehicle market, making ICE vehicles more cost effective to produce and buy, and ultimately, you may have guessed it... eventually killing the Electric Car of the early 1900s.

So... did GMC invent the Electric Car?

EV Renaissance

Unfortunately that honour goes to French inventor Gustave Trouvé. In 1881 he made an E-Bike that served as the first electric car.

Thanks to his invention, the EV market was thriving from 1890-1920 when their popularity declined and then production dropped to near zero.

Production of the ICE vehicle flourished and EVs were plunged into an electric dark age.

But why did GM kill the electric car?

Goodbye, Impact, goodbye EV1.


We know, we know, it's the question everyone asks. The EV1 wasn't scrapped for any nefarious purpose however. It wasn't a conspiracy with "Big Oil" or some wild tale; they just cost a lot to manufacture, were less efficient than desired, did not have enough interest for the undue hardship of making them, and it was clear to everyone involved we needed to work on making EVs more efficient before they would be viable. The brilliant engineers behind our EVs went back to the drawing board and worked on bringing a more cost effective version to life.
What is Ultium and why should I care?

The future is now.


Traditional EV batteries are bulky and you have to sacrifice either battery size and capacity or space for people, pets, and cargo. The Ultium platform is a modular solution to that problem. Much like regular household sized batteries, Ultium's platform takes smaller battery cells, connects them together in such a way where it takes a lot less space and provides much more power. It also solves a critical sustainability issue by using 70% less cobalt by adding aluminum. These modular NCMA (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese-Aluminum) batteries replace the status-quo NMC (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese) batteries and provide a much needed upgrade to power, capacity, stability, and are an all-around better battery system.
No sector left behind.

The future is now.

From the Model H EV in the early 1900s to the Hummer EV of today, it has been GM's goal to innovate the best vehicles for every purpose with no downsides. Today we are ever closer to that goal but we will not stop challenging what it means to make a great vehicle because that's just not the GM way. We are determined to improve and innovate until we achieve perfection.

We will continue to encourage brilliant minds to do better and better because we deserve better, our planet deserves better, and we know we can DO better together.

EVs in the
the early 1900s??

A HISTORY LESSON

That's right, EVs were actually invented before the mass production of ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles... so what happened?

Well unfortunately for EVs, Henry Ford introduced the Model T (no, Elon Musk didn't just invent that name for Tesla), the first mass produced internal combustion vehicle.

This marked a shift in the vehicle market, making ICE vehicles more cost effective to produce and buy, and ultimately, you may have guessed it... eventually killing the Electric Car of the early 1900s.

So... did GMC invent the Electric Car?

EV Renaissance

Unfortunately that honour goes to French inventor Gustave Trouvé. In 1881 he made an E-Bike that served as the first electric car.

Thanks to his invention, the EV market was thriving from 1890-1920 when their popularity declined and then production dropped to near zero.

Production of the ICE vehicle flourished and EVs were plunged into an electric dark age.

But why did GM
kill the electric car?

Goodbye, Impact, goodbye EV1.

We know, we know, it's the question everyone asks. The EV1 wasn't scrapped for any nefarious purpose however. It wasn't a conspiracy with "Big Oil" or some wild tale; they just cost a lot to manufacture, were less efficient than desired, did not have enough interest for the undue hardship of making them, and it was clear to everyone involved we needed to work on making EVs more efficient before they would be viable. The brilliant engineers behind our EVs went back to the drawing board and worked on bringing a more cost effective version to life.

Traditional EV batteries are bulky and you have to sacrifice either battery size and capacity or space for people, pets, and cargo. The Ultium platform is a modular solution to that problem. Much like regular household sized batteries, Ultium's platform takes smaller battery cells, connects them together in such a way where it takes a lot less space and provides much more power. It also solves a critical sustainability issue by using 70% less cobalt by adding aluminum. These modular NCMA (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese-Aluminum) batteries replace the status-quo NMC (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese) batteries and provide a much needed upgrade to power, capacity, stability, and are an all-around better battery system.
What is Ultium and why should I care?

Building Better Batteries

From the Model H EV in the early 1900s to the Hummer EV of today, it has been GM's goal to innovate the best vehicles for every purpose with no downsides. Today we are ever closer to that goal but we will not stop challenging what it means to make a great vehicle because that's just not the GM way. We are determined to improve and innovate until we achieve perfection.

We will continue to encourage brilliant minds to do better and better because we deserve better, our planet deserves better, and we know we can DO better together.

No sector left behind.

EVs for all

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