GM Increases EV Investment to $35B
DETROIT – General Motors will increase its investment in electric-powered and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, a 75% increase from its initial plan.
The investment will include the addition of two more Ultium Cells plants to complement current sites in Lordstown and Spring Hill, Tenn., as well as the commercialization of Ultium batteries and Hydrotec fuel cells.
“We are investing aggressively in a comprehensive and highly-integrated plan to make sure that GM leads in all aspects of the transformation to a more sustainable future,” said GM chairwoman and CEO Mary Barra in a statement. “GM is targeting annual global EV sales of more than 1 million by 2025, and we are increasing our investment to scale faster because we see momentum building in the United States for electrification, along with customer demand for our product portfolio.”
GM also announced it is planning to offer more EV options for commercial trucks to “take advantage of the creative design opportunities and flexibility enabled by the Ultium platform,” with details to be announced later.
In March 2020, GM announced it would invest $20 billion in electric-powered and autonomous vehicles before increasing that figure to $27 billion in November. The key factors in the increase, Barra’s statement continued, are positive reaction to the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq and the electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado, as well as public and private investment in EV charging infrastructure and global policy.
“There is a strong and growing conviction among our employees, customers, dealers, suppliers, unions and investors, as well as policymakers, that electric vehicles and self-driving technology are the keys to a cleaner, safer world for all,” Barra said.
In 2023, GM will being production of the Cruise Origin in 2023. Cruise is GM’s majority-owned subsidiary that recently became the first company to receive permission to provide driverless passenger service in California. GM Financial will provide a $5 billion credit facility for Cruise to build its fleet at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center.
On Tuesday, Gm announced a partnership with Wabtec Corp. to develop Ultium batteries and Hydrotec fuel cells for use in trains.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that its Lincoln luxury brand will launch its first electric vehicle next year, but gave no details. The company said that by mid-decade it expects that half of Lincoln’s global sales will be zero emissions vehicles.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said GM and Ford are continually trying to outdo each other with electric vehicle announcements. “This is an EV arms race going on in Detroit with Ford and GM competing for market and mind share in this green tidal wave,” Ives said in an email to the Associated Press.
Both automakers, he said, are competing for what’s expected to be a $5 trillion market during the next decade. GM came out earlier than Ford, but Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford is trying to “catch up and not be viewed as the little brother,” he said.
“We view EV as the biggest transformation in the auto industry since the 1950s, and it’s shaking up the Detroit auto stalwarts in a major way as they chase after Tesla,” Ives said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Image via General Motors
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
