mobile-menu-icon
GM Authority

General Motors Expects To Sell 1 Million EVs Globally By Mid Decade

General Motors expects to sell 1 million electric vehicles globally by mid-decade, the automaker said during its EV Day event this week.

GM sold just over 20,000 EVs in North America in 2019, all of which were Chevrolet Bolt EVs – the only battery-electric vehicle it currently makes. GM’s SAIC joint venture in China, meanwhile, moved 137,666 EVs in all of 2019, according to Inside EVs. The jump from selling 150,000 EVs a year to selling 1 million a year is significant, but GM is confident it will be able to meet this demand with ease.

The company said during EV Day that its technology can be “scaled to meet customer demand much higher than the more than 1 million global sales the company expects mid-decade.” Battery supply issues have hampered the rollout of EVs from other mainstream manufacturers, such as the Mercedes-Benz EQC, but it hopes to avoid the issue with its new Ohio battery plant, which is being built and operated alongside LG Chem.

Third-party forecasters cited by GM predict EV sales will double between 2025 and 2030 to about three million units globally. The automaker also says this projected volume could be higher as more EVs are launched in popular segments and as charging networks grow. The cost to buy and cost to own figures for EVs will also fall in the coming years, likely leading to higher rates of adoption.

GM also plans to license its battery-electric vehicle technology, such as its proprietary Ultium battery pack, out to other automakers. This will also be made possible by the vertically-integrated manufacture of battery cells with LG Chem, it says.

“Our team accepted the challenge to transform product development at GM and position our company for an all-electric future,” GM CEO Mary Barra said during the automaker’s EV Day event. “What we have done is build a multi-brand, multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more flexibility.”

GM BEV3 Platform


GM’s experience in manufacturing ICE vehicles leaves it well-poised for the coming EV onslaught. Electric vehicles have significantly less moving parts and motors and batteries can be easily swapped between vehicles. For example, GM is planning 19 different battery and drive unit configurations for its new BEV3 electric platform initially – compared to the 550 internal combustion powertrain combinations it offers around the world currently.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more General Motors electric vehicle news and ongoing General Motors news coverage.

Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

Subscribe to GM Authority

For around-the-clock GM news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest GM news. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. Yes, just like the 500,000 Cadillacs lol

    Reply
  2. Note that also means they will still be selling ICE too. There should be a good balance for a while.

    Reply
  3. Build the EV that people want and can afford, a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox is one of General Motors most popular vehicles in current production and has a starting price of about $23K; but if the price of gas is about the same as it is today, the number of potential consumers who would be willing to pay a $20K premium to buy a Equinox CUV EV would be very small

    The only way that GM can attract a high number of Americans to consider buying a EV variant of the Equinox would be that the price difference was $5,000-7,500.00 as any more wouldn’t be affordable.

    Reply
    1. As a aside, my loaded 2020 Bolt LT was $27,400 out the door 5 weeks ago.

      Reply
      1. For a car the size of an LT Cruze that you can get for 17000$ with no government incentives. Your bank account got screwed!

        Reply
  4. Anyone else see the unicorn….

    Reply
  5. There will be no problem meeting the demand, because the demand for EV’s will not grow in the next decade. China is the largest market because government incentives and I doupt the chi-coms economy can hold out that kind of money drain, and other countries in north America and Europe are struggling to find money for incentives as well. Currently EV’s dont pay road tax, which is over 33% of gas cost in many states, and some states have talked about charging an annual road tax of up to 2000$ a year on EV’s, what will happen to the demand then? I guess EV’s will be a good way for Gm to re-enter Europe.

    Reply
    1. steven

      The average American drives 13,500 miles a year. The Average new vehicle sold in the U.S. gets 26 miles to the gallon. I live in the high tax state of Illinois, we pay a 60 cent a gallon gas tax. It comes out to $312 a year per vehicle.
      If your state wants to charge $2000 per vehicle, that means you politicians are crooks. Try throwing a few in jail. It works for us.

      Reply
      1. Peter, I believe Illinois is actually one of the states proposing the tax, and theirs is 1000$ a year. Oregon is where the 2000$ a year comes in play, but that proposal was more retorical, Oregon won’t propose that at all. Now for Illinois, the average commuter drives 23000 miles a year, and these EV’s have the same road impact and weight as a full size suburban, who averages 18mpg. That does add up to 1000$ a year.

        Reply
        1. Jacob

          Around Chicago we have a good public transportation system. We put far fewer miles on our vehicles than the rest of the nation.
          We also get a large amount of Semi-truck traffic. It’s not the Suburbans that ruin our roads.

          Reply
          1. Yeas, and when I work in Los Angeles, the majority of people there probably don’t put 7000 miles a year on their vehicle, as it’s only a 1-2 miles drive to work or the store, but in Texas, Florida, the Midwest and Illinois outside California, commuting is king, and there people average 20000+ miles every year. I do admit that in many places in Chicago public transportation is often way easier than driving. If I have to drive through Chicago, I tend to try and do it at night for traffic reasons, all on the interstate.

            Reply
    2. Gas is really expensive where I live due to high taxes, and electricity is relatively cheap. Operating an EV here is significantly cheaper if you do most of your charging at home. Battery prices are finally dropping enough that an EV can near price parity with an equivalent ICE model. Canada now has coast to coast EV charging networks. I am betting that EV demand will take off in the next 2 to 3 years. GM is hitting the market with a wide range of EVs at just the right time.

      Reply
    3. “demand for EV’s will not grow in the next decade”. Absolutely moronic statement. Do you think the Earth is flat too?

      Reply
  6. Why is this far fetch?, You guys realized the US isn’t GMs only market and sold 5 million or so vehicles last year. With the new capabilities added it’s possible, OTOH the global economy is about to nuke, I wouldn’t buy one with the upcoming “Mark of Beast” financing soon 😉.

    Reply
  7. I think one Million EV sales by GM is a little light. Pundits are stating that by 2023 Tesla will be producing and selling one Million Vehicles consistently and they are a small startup. So a big Company like GM with Four Brands in my opinion will be able to push out more than a Million EV’s per year. I know VW is stating they will sell more.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel