General Motors To Double Resources For Electric Cars, Self-Driving Vehicles By 2021
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Each year for nearly a decade, General Motors has produced a sustainability report to show where the automaker sits in achieving its emissions, safety, and other goals. The 2018 iteration, released Thursday, highlighted not only GM’s progress, but staked out the future, too.
Specifically, GM said it will double its engineering resources for electric cars and self-driving vehicles in the next two years. Considering GM has already deployed numerous resources and capital to both fields, that’s a major push. GM said previously it plans for 20 new electric cars by 2023, though it’s unclear how many of those Americans will see.
The previous announcement didn’t specify if the number of electric cars will simply help stake out its ground and meet challenges in China. We will see some, however. Chevrolet likely has a slightly larger crossover based on the Bolt EV in the works and Cadillac confirmed it will launch an electric SUV early next decade. The automaker also confirmed it has a battery-electric pickup truck in development, though that’s likely much farther out, based on comments from GM President Mark Reuss.
As for self-driving cars, Cruise Automation secured $5 billion total in investment, though we may not see its cars deployed this year. GM previously said it wanted to commercialize self-driving cars this year. So far, it appears behind schedule.
Other highlights from the report include GM’s work toward eliminating emissions. The automaker said it’s reduced its manufactured carbon intensity ahead of schedule by three years since 2010. Compared to the 2010 baseline, GM now aims to reduce its carbon emissions another 31 percent by 2030. Renewable energy also powers 20 percent of GM’s total electricity needs, while the goal remains 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The company also highlighted that it’s the first major automaker to commit to sourcing sustainable natural rubber for tire production to mitigate climate change effects and help stop deforestation.
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I find no one, save for those types that seemingly blog for a living and believe AI is the answer for all and are not even remotely interested in owning or driving a car, that want this.
Why?
I don’t blog for a living and don’t find AI to be the answer to every problem, but I do think a steady switch to EVs is inevitable. There’s clearly a limited market right now, though, and people on the fence who need to be convinced by marketing and real-world, quality products that it’s time to make the switch.
GM needs to strategically invest in future technologies while bankrolling their efforts with existing technology. That’s precisely what they’re doing. Even more than that, they need to attract engineers who are able to design and build what they’re hoping to sell years from now—not just what they make today.
Gross. Absolutely gross. Millions upon millions of dollars for things most people don’t even want.
According to its IPO, Uber wants to become the World’s biggest autonomous taxi (AT) operator. It’s a target worth trillions. However, they have a lot of competition that includes GM. Actually, if I had any cash, I would put it on GM because they look like they could become the World’s biggest mobility company.
By 2025 there should be 50 million or more AEVs Worldwide. About half of them should be ATs.
Musk has said that, before 2021, the over one million Tesla cars could be operating as ATs on a Tesla AT platform.
How times change. When I was a boy the local baker delivered his bread using a horse and cart. My father when he was a young man, like all farmers then, tilled wheat fields using a team of horses to pull the plough.
Only problem for GM – they forgot that design matters.
That investment news is welcome and necessary. Hope they realize it’s all about the batteries. While the Bolt is a fair attempt, it’s sales suffer because it’s overpriced. That will continue until battery prices drop to a point of profitability. Tesla is already there and soon will incorporate another leap forward, looking like their acquisition of Maxwell will pay off big. When my GM lease runs out it’s likely I’ll choose an old Tesla over a new Bolt, in the same price range but not even close otherwise.
The day of reckoning for all these automakers, ploughing money into EVs that few people want, is coming soon. What they are banking on is government forcing people to buy them, because there is no natural demand for all the EVs being developed. The technology needs another 20 years of development.