A recent video report put together by CNBC sheds some more light on GM and its goal to one day be the leader in electric vehicle sales and engineering prowess.
The video report, rather predictably, begins with a short soundbite from GM CEO Mary Barra, in which she reiterates the automaker’s goal of one day having a fully-electric vehicle portfolio that produces zero tailpipe emissions, along with sophisticated active safety and autonomous vehicle technology that prevents all vehicle crashes and traffic congestion. GM also plans to have a fully carbon neutral business by 2040, with plans to implement renewable energy sources at all of its facilities worldwide by 2035.
The report goes on to explain how GM’s Ultium lithium-ion battery technology is key to the automaker’s goal of leading the EV sales race in the U.S. by mid-decade. Tim Grewe, General Director for Electrification Strategy and Cell Engineering at GM, says the Ultium modular battery allows GM to use the exact same battery cell design in a wide variety of vehicles, from the large GMC Hummer EV to the much smaller and lighter Cadillac Lyriq crossover.
Another key aspect of GM’s electrification strategy is production capacity. With the automaker sidelining $35 billion for electric and autonomous vehicle projects, it’s performing large-scale upgrades at many of its assembly plants to transform them into major EV manufacturing hubs. The GM Factory Zero plant, for example, underwent a $2.2 billion renovation that will allow it to produce important electric GM products like the GMC Hummer EV Pickup and SUV, Chevy Silverado EV and Cruise Origin robotaxi. Other GM plants that have undergone costly renovation work to produce EVs include the GM CAMI plant in Ontario and the GM Spring Hill plant in Tennessee.
Check out the CNBC report embedded below to learn more about GM’s ambitious strategy to lead the EV sales race in America.
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Comments
It would help if you guys would put proper links in your articles either as a footnote or as a “Sources” section.
The only way the electric future will work is if (in this case) GM open-sources battery tech. This would result in 3 things —
1. Competitors would end price gauging of replacement batteries down the line (which seems to be easily over $11K)
2. Competitors might add efficiency in their designs, which because of open source would have to be shared with GM
3. Making affordable replacement batteries would make electric cars a no-brainer
“Affordable batteries” is an oxymoron. It takes incredible energy to produce and recycle batteries. There is nothing affordable about it. We’ve tried making affordable batteries for over 2 facades now, endless startups, mind blowing government grants thrown at universities. What makes anyone think that in 10 years we will do what we haven’t been able to do in the last 2 1/2 decades?
GM can be the leader in BEV’s by leading the abandonment of them that’s about to happen. One thing is clear. Battery will never be as affordable or have the energy density of what can be called “fuel”, be it gas, hydrogen or fusion. Batteries by nature must be a reversible incomplete reaction and cannot physically compare to a total reduction reaction that happens in fuel.
I love when you talk about how ‘affordable’ gas is. Last time I checked: the planet is on fire.
Yes…. On fire in California because California passed laws on how federal land can be managed, on fire because dams are being torn down to “protect” environments that really could use additional irrigation, and on fire cause despite that fire in Australia a year and a half ago making headline news, Austria has had an all time low for recorded fire damage this decade. It’s on fire by the same people selling us overpriced EV’s. It is stupidity when after you get robbed to buy your stuff back from a thief.
Oh yes. It’s all California’s fault. Those dang Dems!
Would you Russian Insurrectionists please get out of the Ukraine and this thread?
No changes in most of the country, just typical drought cycles that have happened since the beginning of time. Silly people built homes and towns where they shouldn’t be, like deserts, beaches, and floodplains to name a few.
So many inaccuracies. You really hand no idea what you’re talking about and it would be best if you didn’t try to present your opinions as facts because they are definitely not.
I think the environment would be better served with an empty gas tank laying in a landfill for eternity. Compared to a battery in a landfill for eternity.
The keys here are this.
#1 They are lowering cost of batteries and replacements.
#2 the platform here is already using two different kinds of cells now, one for China one else where. So it can use more than one battery or type of battery.
#3 the big one here. This platform could use different up upgraded batteries as they come. This means the little bricks could be filled with more advanced and more power dense batteries with no redesign.
#4 the batteries are not going to land fills as the metals are too valuable and they are already starting recycle programs that start with production and follow till end of life.
#5 with the money now behind put into development changes will come sooner and improvements will come faster. Electronics are the way forward in many ways as just look at the last 25 years and how far they have come.
#6 efficiencies will come in more than the battery area. The rest of the electronic will be more efficient and will extend range and lower costs.
#7 gas is not going to vanish in 5 years. But people will migrate over time as the cost of EV will be cheaper than ICE in the end.
#8 Hydrogen has a ways to go cost wise and it will be be applied to large trucks first.
100% disagree.
Even with “recycled” batteries there will be significant energy to crack and extract the minerals, and also only about 60-75% of it will be salvageable at best so much of it will be newly mined regardless. Now assuming that new chemistry and “solid state” batteries double The energy density, the Chevy Bolts battery which costs 14k would drop to 5k. That’s on a vehicle that’s the equivalent of a Chevy sonic, before adding in the cost of the eletric motor and drives which are expensive as eletric motors require copper, and lots of it. Even if the batteries were free the bolt would cost 24K to a sonics 18k, and Chevy lost 7K for every bolt sold and made 2-3 for every sonic, so that’s actually 31k vs 15k assuming batteries are free.
And ultium is 3X that in terms of everything
But what does common sense matter??? When Blackrock, vanguard and Citi group are 100% in on ESG’s and manage 80% of the S&P who needs math when you got flower power. Got to appease the masters
The prices of cars will not drop. But the EV cars will not continue to increase as ICE will.
The content to build a legal ICE will continue to increase due to materials and content. Also fines for not meeting regulations will add cost. Also hybrids will continue to be more.
Recycling. You have anything to back up numbers no one has yet?
Sonic is dead as it was not making money.
The EV models will be cheaper to build but they will use the decrease to add content and features while making a decent profit.
Much like a Mac Book pro. The computers stay about the same but pack more power speed and better features at similar prices.
Look EV is here and will see slow growth over the next decade. It will improve and continue to adapt to the market. You don’t have to love it but it is not going to go away.
Globally to compete mfgs are going to have to make it work.
Younger people also will be the first to embrace it. Most grew up in crappy imports and only worry about getting where they are going. They also are indoctrinated in the climate debate.
No we’re not, I’m one of those “youngins” less than half of us believe that climate B@@@. At least here in the Midwest, almost none of us grew up on imports. It was all old ford and Chevy sedans and compacts. A couple of the luckier ones grew up on muscle cars and trucks.
I’ve played the recycling game, anything to make a buck growing up. Nothing is 100% recyclable. Call it the law of entrophy or what is what. My recycling of metals, lumber or plastics, much of it is unrecoverable, be it due to corrosion or mass loss over the years. I’m assuming batteries will be similar.
The sonic died due to its being overhauled….. and renamed the trailblazer. Small ICE is still here. Can you also explain to me how ICE will be more expensive besides slapping additional taxes from dying states? They already produce lower NOX than atmospheric normals, lower dust and toxins than what is measured in standard natural atmospheric concentrations (lighting is still the #1 producer of NOX) talks about future ICE engines include throttless and compression ignition designs, eliminating throttle bodies and spark plugs. I see ICE getting simpler and cheaper in the future. Can you walk me through this????
I hate to break the news to you but the Midwest where I live is a last hold out but even here I am seeing the effects of the lies over the years. You go to the states that boarder salt water and it is even worse.
Imports are now becoming very common here like it or not. People try to pass them off as American because they may be made in Indiana to make it feel legit but the money goes home to where they are from.
ICE development cost has continued to rise as fast or even faster as regulations continue to climb. It is not all labor cost that account for the average price of a vehicle being $46K now.
New engines, new systems and new transmissions all add more cost as each are billion dollar programs. Just look at all the new engines in the last 20 years that have come and gone vs the past where the I6 and V8 Chevy were the same for several decades and very simple and cheap to build.
Add to it the electronics today that are needed to run all these systems now to gain MPG or off cycle credits. Now look at all the more expensive metals and composites being used where regular old steel used to play a roll. Just materials alone to lose weight has been very expensive.
Just look at the complexity of the v8 Chevy today and the bill of materials it uses vs the 350 from 1970. # cylinders are being built that cost as much or more than it used to cost for a 454.
The Sonic died as it was not cheap and it was out sold by the CUV models today.
Yes there were compression ignition gas engines. GM and Mazda were the leaders in them and both are moving on.
Once they get the cost down electronics will be stable as there is no continued push for higher standard of emissions or regulation for the automakers. This is why they are turning to it.
Look I am not a believer in global warming. I am not an EV fan but I work in the performance auto industry and we are seeing first hand what is going on and the cost involved and automakers are now just really to go along vs to continue to fight. They now see they where they can be in 20 years and they can live with it.
As for the youth today most are abandoning the love of the car. For most it is just transportation anymore, I have enough kids around here to see first hand that most are not like I was growing up. .
Also my customer base is now growing older as outside of trucks and jeeps most are not into cars anymore. They will lift a truck or jeep but most will not touch an engine anymore due to cost and complexity and ever changing emissions testing in many states.
Be ready they are now after exhaust and are now going to ticket with cameras loud exhaust. California, NY, TN and MA are all active on this.
The automakers also are needing to be global companies to survive and with that many countries and Europe are on a tight path to EV.
You can come up with a thousand points but the truth is this stuff is coming and you can make a 101 excuses but that is not going to change much. It is bigger than what we can control anymore. When I see many billion dollar companies all scrambling to find their place in the future it is the canary in the coal mine.
You don’t have to like it but you had better get a grip on the reality of what all is going on as it is coming. For me it is very important as it effects my income in a major way as well as my hobby.
Wrong, here in the heartland we grew up with Fords, GM’s and Chrysler’s which were all built here by our dads and granddads. I personally have never owned a foreign vehicle nor has anyone in my family! And today you have to look a long while to see an EV. I see more old Pontiac’s on the road everyday, including mine, than EV’s. They are a hard sell here.
I used to say the same thing when it took years to see a Tesla. Now They are like turds in a cow pasture here in Ohio.
Sticking your head in the sand is not an option to deal with this.
I used to say it would be cold day I would not have a V8. It gas beeb a while since I had one. In fact my last 4 cylinder was faster than my last Big Block stock.
Columbus region? Sooooo much money up there. You get to Toledo or Cincinnati area and it changes dramatically. All my friends who are wowed by Tesla don’t give a hoot about the environment. It’s more so the wow factor that used to come with foreign exotics like BMW and Audi….. both which I remind them I can smoke on a track with a used camaro.
Agreed, also I believe that the cost of gas and diesel will peak and then decrease because of lower demand as more people switch to EV’s thereby lowering the overall operational costs for ICE’s.
It is beyond price or who is in office anymore. Companies are not going to abandon $35 Billion dollar programs at this point no matter the cost of fuel or political office holder as it changes every 4 years. Companies need more stability than that.
Sure sure.
This Enron style fad is coming to an end.
Come on recession.
Ironic they want to lead in tech and safety and still make it near impossible to get safety features like adaptive cruise control unless you get the highest of all trims and only some models.
GM is full of fluff and talk these days
These battery vehicles have no range.
Disposing of batteries is going to be hazardous, do you want them dumping that sh*t near your home?
How is everyone going to charge these with the current infrastructure and available power?
We will need to build more clean nuke plants to be able to run everything that will need charged.
These EV’s are not the answer!
I just sold a trusty old Honda Ridgeline and in normal freeway driving, I was lucky to get 300 miles per tank. That’s right in line with where GM’s EVs are going to be over the next few years. When I drive to my cabin “up North” in MI, I will be able to make the entire 4 hour trip on a single charge and plug in at my cottage when I arrive. Easy and stupid cheap compared to gasoline right now. With an EV, I could make a RT like this for under $10 in electricity cost (assuming something the size of a Cadillac Lyric, for example). That same trip would cost me over $90 in my wife’s Mazda CX5. Can’t wait till GM starts cranking out these 300 mile EVs.
Like it or not Electric is the future look at the price of gas in the US! Well in Canada it’s around $8.00 now and going up!!
Maybe, for commuters, but it will be a long time before EV’s can practically replace ICE’s on a large scale outside of the big cities due to grid and charging location limitations.
GM is just assuming that its customers are along for this ride? Good luck with that.
The changes are going to be slow over 15-20 years. Everything will adapt over time. Especially if there is money to be made.
Look at all the mfgs committed to going electric. It is far from just GM. Hyundai just announced they will kill the Sonata for a EV CUV and they have already defunded their ICE programs for them and Kia.
GM is assuming that old people like you aren’t they’re primary market anymore. They need people <70 buying their cars, and the way to do that is EVs.
I suppose it sounds like I’m living in the past and maybe I am but it was not a bad place to be. Someday my ICE vehicles will be relics but maybe my “old” knowledge, experience, and tools might still be valuable to some. I have always had a love for cars as long as I can remember and even worked at a Chevy dealership as a teenager in the summer in the late 70’s. Great times!
Shifting to EVs would occur as part of a “normal” evolution of technology over the next 20 – 30 years. This “normal” process optimizes technology as it is developed because it is driven by cost efficiency and competitive performance which in turn drives user demand. The current evolution of EVs is not driven by this process but rather by unproven environmental concerns which seem to place the fate of the world on automobiles which consume only about 20-25% of fossil fuels including aircraft (so the max CO2 that can really be eliminated is less than 25%). In any event, political correctness has driven the current shift to EVs, not the “normal” process which optimizes technology as it is developed. The hysteria to have EVs as soon as possible ignores the supply issues of producing millions of EVs per year requiring 1500 lbs of semi-precious metals per vehicle. Where does it all come from? China, Russia? Even in a peacetime environment the worldwide competition for these materials will drastically increase prices (assuming this amount of material is available, i.e. current chip crisis). Secondly, the ability of the grid to supply the additional electricity required to power 50% EVs is questionable, especially in the distribution network. Further, the continued shift away from fossil fuel and nuclear plants will REDUCE the amount of electricity available, not increase it. Of course this post will be vilified by the EV zealots but as you do it try to use FACTS to support your position, not emotions. I have nothing against EVs and agree that the technology is going this way in the future, however, I think our current EV tech is not will enable us to get there. We are in the “bag phone” stage of the early cell phones of the 1990’s, we need to get to the “smart phone” stage before EVs will be truly viable.
The changes are over the next 20 years. Just look at the cell phone and lap top from 20 years ago and where we are today. Just look at the web. There was no real internet 30 years ago and today life would struggle with out it.
The money is being spent and the changes will be coming as the money is flowing to make the changes.
GM is probably the smartest company out there today when it comes to sourcing. They have signed deals to get battery raw materials from democratic and stable countries like the US (MP materials), Canada (POSCO), and Australia (Glencore). At this point, there is no sign of a “shortage”. Rather, the mines and processing need to be scaled up, which GM is actively involved with rather than hoping somebody else does it. Even if the market price goes sky high, it doesn’t matter for GM because they have long term contracts locked in.
As far as the grid, adding hundreds of millions of EVs is no different than the gradual adoption of A/C across the US. In 1950, practically nobody had A/C, but by 1990 it was in >80% of houses. Upgrades will be needed, but it’s kind of ridiculous to think that utilities can’t plan for gradual growth in their business, given that they’ve done exactly that for pretty much their entire existence.
Actually there are signs of shortages already an example being Rivian’s recent price increase. However, the key point here is that EV production worldwide is in its infancy from a volume point of view. We are currently at less that 5% of total vehicle production in an environment constrained by a shortage of microchips. Getting to even 50% EVs x the huge physical amount of semi-precious metals is not something that GM or anyone else will solve with purchasing contracts.
Regarding electrical production ramp up, the utilities in the past were not constrained by restrictions on fossil fuel or nuclear energy use as they will be in the future. If those options to increase capacity are either taken away or their use is actually reduced then they will forced to use just renewables which are expensive, unreliable and potentially not capable of supplying the quantities of energy that we will need to add a high % of EVs.
The energy question has changed from just building more of the same technology to changing over to a completely different technology on a global scale. It is easy to “assume” that “they” will easily solve these problems. Hopefully you are correct.
Should we be looking at buying large properties along major highways for future charging stations, could include activities to kill time while charging.
gm making a bunch of EV’s ? Sure thing. Passing Tesla? Not a chance! The Cyber Truck has over 1 million reservations. Tesla doesn’t even pay a penny for advertising. The owner has over 80 million followers on Twitter. Elon is an innovator, Mary is, full of hot air. gm keeps passing gas and still few cars. Even George Soros dumped all of his gm stock. Can’t sell what you don’t have.
The Sonic replacement (EV variant) by architecture is the Bolt. Sonic was coded internally in GM as G1XX, as the XX’s naming the variants of the architecture. The Bolt was the only vehicle that came to be in the G2XX architecture.
The Sonic replacement on the ICE variant (because the Sonic was a sedan and hatch) is the Onix (sedan & hatch) coded JBXX. The only thing is that it went to the Emerging Market. The Trax & Encore CUVs were replaced by the TrailBlazer and the Encore GX (9BXX) and for the Emerging markets by the Chevy Tracker.
In summary the 9B, JB, G1, G2 are all B Segment vehicles. All companies in the world keep re-designing and re-inventing the B segment. Reason, 4 out of 10 vehicles sold in the world are B segment.
This is where the future is, IF in fact he EV future will ever be as dreamed of. Perhaps C segment and to a lesser extent a D segment. Hummers and the like have limited amount of customers. How many average United State-ians can buy a base $59,900 USD Lyriq? or a $100,000+ Hummer?
Why doesn’t GM include hybrids in the EV plan at least that hedges their bet and maybe wouldn’t alienate as many customers?
As a GM engineering VP once said, “this is a gamble.” Some of you were there too when it was said it. < 5 years ago.
Big problem with EV! I went to my local Chev/Cad dealer earlier this week to ask for electrical wiring specifications and optimal locations for the 220 volt fast charge outlets. I built this garage a few years ago knowing EV’s were coming. This garage has 200 amp electrical service.
The problem, the dealer has no pamphlet, spec. sheet, or any other available literature on how or where to place or locate outlets for future attachment of charging cables. Also, no info on the length of charging cables etc. This is rediculous! Why would anybody buy a GM EV if they can’t charge it at home.
Went to two other dealers and got the same stupid response. Central Indiana is in a real fix, if it’s citizens need or want an electric grocery getter.
You’re making this WAY more complicated than it needs to be. Most GM vehicles have the charge port located in front of the driver’s side door. The only exception that I can think of is the Hummer EV.
As for power: The newest GM EV’s have up to ~11kW onboard chargers. Old ones are less.
For 11kW, you’d need at least a 60A circuit (50A continuous plus some overhead so that you don’t overheat the breaker).
Another option is to simply install a NEMA 14-50 “RV” outlet. This will give you over 8kW of power, which is more than enough for an overnight charge. Lots of chargers out there that will just plug into the outlet, hang on the wall, and you’re good to go. Just make sure that you size the wall charger to the max amp rating of your garage circuit (i.e. 40A charger for a 50A circuit). A charger with a NEMA 14-50 plug is great for travel too because many state parks and homes have this type of plug already.
You make some good points. However, the potential new EV buyer needs to know in advance exactly what the electrical power requirements, wiring requirements and cable lengths will be. The buyer’s home may not even have the utility service and breaker panel capacity for EV charging circuits. This info needs to be provided right up front in straight forward terms by a salesman when a potential EV customer enters the dealers door.
Infrastructure nationwide is a huge question and a present impediment to rapid conversion to EV’s. New homes and apartment buildings will need to be designed with greater electrical capacity and provisions for charging stations for local use. On a nationwide basis, there must be EV builder standards so that all EV’s can be charged while on the highway. All Interstate highway rest stops will have to have new additional power lines to allow for, at least a dozen charging stations, for cars and large commercial trucks.
Now politics raise its ugly head. Red states seem to loathe spending on infrastructure and complying with national standards which creates another impediment to the expansion of EV use.
GM JUNK
If GM gets back to it’s strengths, it might become the “EV leader” that Mary Barra has proclaimed…
GM’s strength is Killing Americans. Now that they can’t use their Special Ignitions to Kill, they must design and engineer something equally effective, perhaps even better. GM’s core business model is Killing, so we all hope they get back to their core values quickly.