GM has announced that it will delay to the launch of three all-electric products, namely the Chevy Equinox EV, the Chevy Silverado EV RST, and the GMC Sierra EV Denali. The announcement coincides with the release of GM’s third-quarter earnings report and updated 2023 financial guidance. For the moment, none of GM’s all-electric vehicle plants have been idled as a result of the ongoing UAW labor strike.
The announcement that the launch of the Chevy Equinox EV, Chevy Silverado EV RST, and GMC Sierra EV Denali would be delayed was announced by GM CEO Mary Barra during GM’s Q3 earnings presentation.
“The [software organization] team is optimizing the software strategy in fine-tuning the plans for our new vehicles to help make sure we execute with the highest possible quality and customer experience while positioning the company to drive significant revenue growth from subscriptions in the future,” Barra said during the presentation.
As GM announced early last year, the automaker plans to roll out roughly 50 in-vehicle digital subscription services by 2026. The services will be based on GM’s new Ultifi software platform, with estimates that new paid connected features could generate upwards of $25 billion in revenue annually by as early as 2030.
“To give the team time to do this, we’ll move out the launches of three products – the Chevrolet Equinox EV, the Silverado EV RST and the GMC Sierra EV Denali – each by only a few months,” Barra added in reference to the products’ software optimization strategy. “This will ensure their success.”
GM says it still plans to have the capacity to build 1 million EVs in North America by the end of 2025. However, the automaker is now pulling back on some of its EV production expectations and no longer expects to build 400,000 EVs in North America by mid-2024. Production of the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV at the GM Orion Assembly plant has been pushed back to late 2025.
Nevertheless, Barra says that costs to build the the company’s EV products are quickly falling, including a 45-percent decrease to the cost of batteries in the last 12 months.
“We also expect to achieve significant margin improvement on our battery-electric trucks through engineering efficiency and improvements, supplier costs, and reducing order complexity, buildable combinations and manufacturing complexity,” Barra said.
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Comments
EV demand won’t increase if you don’t have product out there for people to see and test drive. Put a bunch into daily rental
Ultium is a complete disaster for GM. Mary staked the future of the company on the platform, and it was rolled out not-ready for prime time (as usual). Advertise a product people can’t buy YEARS ahead of actual launch, take a bunch of preorders, and then spend the first FEW model years trickling out recall laden defective products and wonder why the public runs to the competition. The only reason there was a sudden demand for the aging Bolt, which followed nearly the same disaster-ridden rollout, was BECAUSE IT BECAME CHEAP!
Ultium and Cruise have been massive failures, China sales have fallen off a cliff, and then add in the UAW and GM is completely screwed – Even if competent people took over the company today, I’m not sure it’s not too late.
Mary B has obviously never heard of “underpromise, but overdeliver”
Agreed. I’ve been on the fence about replacing my Denali with an EV truck, but can’t get real life experience prior to making such a big change to my driving experience. Especially since I’d have to charge almost exclusively via public chargers during my ownership.
I’ve test driven the Lightning, but I need a weekend with it to do a short road trip and a few trips to work. I rented a Tesla last weekend, it allayed all of my concerns, so now I’d buy a Tesla pickup in a heartbeat. However, a big part of it was its quick charging at Tesla Supercharger, and how the map intuitively told you where to stop along the way when traveling between cities. Unfortunately, we’re still a ways out from a Cybertruck. If Ford offered a rental, I’d try it to see if it fit my needs, and possibly buy one.
All EVs and subscriptions? RIP gm.
I agree about subscriptions. If I want to lease a car, I’ll lease it. If I buy it, I expect to buy ALL of it. If you force me to buy a subscription(lease) to own the car, that is a hard pass.
These subscriptions are for infotainment options, value adds that you do not need to subscribe to in order to use the vehicle.
Are they? Or are they heated seats(BMW), remote start (from the fob, toyota) as just 2 examples of deployed subscriptions that I believe have been withdrawn. I don’t care if they make watching cat videos a subscription. I’ve no plans to use my car as a rolling TV set. I don’t even care about onstar or wifi as a subscription. My cell plan is a subscription too, and I won’t be buying gm’s version. The problem of course is with the new architecture, they have to have a data plan for recalls. Because going to a dealer is so passe. And gm wants you to pay for the data plan they need to perform a recall.
From the surveys I’ve completed for GM it will not be for common car options like heated seats and remote start.
All the options in the survey had purchase prices associated with them and some with monthly subscriptions. An example is the Lyriq performance upgrade for $1200.
Most of the options seemed to be around the infotainment system and using the technology the car has – Internet connectivity, cameras, GPS, microphones, and display screens in novel ways. For example themes in the Lyriq that you can buy.
None of these things are required to have the car to function normally, but if you want a car themed to support your sports team it will cost $ to buy the theme.
So what you are saying is you buy a Cadillac Lyriq. Then software takes what you have already purchased, “de-tunes”, disables de-contents and holds hostage your ability to use what already own to its full potential unless you pay $1200 to “unlock” said features in the software. That’s not an “option” or subscription, that’s RANSOMWARE.
I don’t see it that way. That $1200 is basically paying for the potential liability GM will have on your motor/inverter/battery from doing 0-60 runs (all the time) for the warranty of the battery and motor. I’m sure it was designed for its normal rating but capable of its performance rating.
There is not excuse for delaying car releases due to subscription software offerings modifications. That is a sham and not the real reason for the delay. Those software offerings had two + years to be worked out before the cars were to roll off the production lines. GM is covering up the real reasons for the EV delays and it is not software offering issues.
I’m sure a small reason is the software issue, but lack of demand is the real reason.
This astounds me. I want a GM based all-electric truck! When I contacted the stealer-ship they have provided me no marketing or information relative to EV trucks. They just want to sell me their ICE inventory! Lack of demand? Put the trucks out there and see how fast they go. If they sit on the lot then tell me they don’t have demand, which would likely be due to design flaws or some other issue.
This same article was on another site hours ago. Well, kind of the same article. In it, they gave the full story and talked about the Bolt being confirmed and coming out soon after the current Bolt stops. Part of it was that this decision was made to assist them in getting the revamped Bolt out since it’s selling quite well and customers like/want them. Unlike (I’m assuming) the lack of sales of EV trucks?
IMO, a huge part of EV sales is and will be understanding your customer base and who will buy one. Take for example on this this site. How many of the truck buyers/drivers constantly say no way on an EV? And that’s ok. Eventually they may have to make the transition, but for the many coming years they can still drive their ICE trucks. So why attempt to shove those down the throats of buyers who don’t want them? On the other hand, the many buyers wanting or willing to buy an EV (and that number is growing) are people who probably wouldn’t buy a truck anyhow. The bottom line is that the EV trucks may make more sense than a smaller car/hatch EV when it comes to climate change, etc. However, an EV truck just sitting on the lots does no good where as another Bolt EV replacing an older small ICE vehicle does a lot more good.
I truly think GM is realizing this now and making adjustments accordingly. The only surprise to me? I’d think they would do everything in their power to get that Equinox EV on the roads!!
For the Equinox EV it’s all about cost so until they get the battery module production up (early 2024) they might as well use the capacity they have now for the Lyriq, Hummer, Blazer and Silverado WT. Those vehicles bring in more profit since they sell at higher price points.
That can’t be true as they wanted to sell the trucks to offset the production costs of other EVs. That is why they jumped in with the Hummer EV at $100k. If they actually made the vehicles, they would sell, as Hyundai/Kia is selling tons of them. Ditto for Tesla. I think the issue is that the prices have been pushed down and they can’t get away with the huge mark-ups that they planned. Now they are holding them back to get the subscriptions embedded at launch to appease the shareholders. They are only selling Bolts in large numbers because they are dirt cheap. GM had to drop their prices because of all the recalls. No one wanted to buy them with the poor quality.
I have been shopping EVs since 2022 and would have a Rivian R1T (my first ever truck) if it was more affordable for what it is (I owned a Porsche until my last vehicle change, the money isn’t the issue) I know of at least 2 others that are thinking of doing the same. I was going to shop the Silverado/Sierra pairs if they priced them reasonably for what they are.
Until manufacturers start offering options at reasonable prices, they are all going to complain about how poorly they are selling.
I’m with you on this. I go through a lot of vehicles (sports cars, trucks, SUV’s, etc.) in their upper but not highest trims; I avoid speciality versions or anything that has me waiting or paying demand premium. I didn’t even consider the Lightning until the hype was over, and now they are selling at price lower than its ICE comparable so I’m shopping it. We’ll say I’m now a potential customer. Unfortunately, Ford still lacks some features I like that GM offers such as rear camera mirror and heads up display, and the multi function tailgate. Also, GM’s ambient cabin settings and heated steering wheel are better than Ford’s (I used to own a King Ranch). Point is, if I could get the Hummer today for $80k, I’d buy it since a GM EV regular pickup isn’t available. However, the local dealer would rather have it parked for months with a sticker of $115k plus I think a markup rather than sell for a competitive price.
Gm’s “all electric future” fantasy is dicentegrating before our eyes. Gm better have a good ICE backup plan to fill up plants like Orion.
You did Mary. You popped the EV bubble!
Oh no!! gm will lose tens of sales.
Why do people keep saying electric cars help climate change. SMH. They are actually worse for the environment. Climate change is a hoax too. Wake up people. It’s an agenda by the elites. Notice I didn’t say republicans and or democarats. It’s all corrupt politicians and media.
Bd: Facts are funny things. They tend to refute the non-factual things. What you just said is totally not factual, thus not funny.
I’m not anti ICE, but certainly not anti EV either. Neither are good for the environment, but the overall carbon footprint on an EV like the Bolt or Equinox is far less over the course of it’s life span than the gas Equinox or the Trailblazer. But what’s needed is for the world to continue to improve EV’s, the way they come to market and how they get charged. What’s also needed is for the ICE to continue to improve in using less fuel and emitting less C02.
Todays big news is Chevy Bolt will return with
LFP Battery (used in all BYD and many Tesla autos with this segment gaining share from NCM)
EUV based single model (so no more EV / EUV confusion and also cost savings)
NACS charging port (probably it will have CCS as well).
It will be good if they provide 2-3 battery ranges like 60 KWh, 80 KWh and 100 KWh.
I hope they price it affordably.
Most likely they will since $25K EVs will be available by that time.
GM already uses LFP in vehicles in China. Also the new Bolt will not support a 100kWh battery. The vehicle isn’t large enough. So it will max out at the lower Ultium battery size – 6 modules. It will still have more range than the current EUV due to heat pump, more efficient inverter/motor, lighter weight, NACS port.
It will be cheaper for them to build because it will be a parts bin raid from the other Ultium vehicles instead of a unique vehicle like the current Bolt twins. I’m imagining a smaller wheelbase Equinox EV.
GM needs new Leadership. This is becoming a complete joke.
Current leadership is obviously clueless. I do not want to hear that GM is having issues figuring out how to switch and learn how to make BEV’s because they are mostly a Legacy ICE vehicle maker.
BYD figured it out and did so extremely quickly.
Get leadership that understands the urgency and get this rolling ASAP.
Current leadership is all excuses and now followthrough. It is embarrassing,
So what Mary is saying is… there is no profit built in to these EV, and the only way for gm to make money on them is to bilk the customer out of billions in subscription fees… otherwise, EV are a money-losing proposition for the corporation. PERFECT.
Give me that big battery and bidirectional charging so I don’t have to spend $40k for batteries attached to my garage wall! Combine that with utility such as pulling my trailer occasionally or hauling stuff (truck) and I am ready to buy. Sell me that truck please.
Oh you really mean delay for software fixes because of garbage development showing up in the Lyriq and now Blazer cause your probably offshoring the work to who with a few on shore project managers….more than likely based on current state of big business habits to save a buck! Imagine if the same problems keep coming up in the self driving software….no thanks I will control my own car too. Not waiting another year to see a couple production modles GM you dragged this out too long already. Now I know why you extended my GM CC points from not expiring INTO SPRING 2024 at least.
The software problem is that the computer keeps showing they will lose money on every one of these EVs they would sell.
Look at the larger auto industry. China is going full strength forward in the EV market. Barra just announced that GM buyers may be able to buy directly from the company. Apparently, they figure why allow dealerships to keep up-pricing their vehicles with market adjustments and other add-ons. I couldn’t agree with her more. Let dealerships be a place to look at vehicles and provide repairs. Then the new Ford guy says they have developed a nitrogen engine that would supplant the ICE. Nitrogen is $2/gallon in small quantities and as low as $50 cents/gallon in bulk. Bring it on. Big oil is sweating like a hooker in church. Times they are a changing. Fools and nay sayers get out of the way.
Nitrogen!? What the H has nitrogen ( an Inert gas ) have to do with anything?
You can put it in tires at a dealership and charge morons extra for it.
As a Bolt EUV driver with over 10,000 miles I have no complaints and happily charge at home and save over $1,000 a year in fuel. Now I don’t know if the savings for the Lyriq or Blazer would be that high but maybe $500 to $700. The Blazer EV and Equinox EV are assembled in Mexico so the UAW has little impact on the cost of labor and GM still cannot figure out how to compete with Tesla. My next EV will probably be a Tesla unless the Equinox is competitive which I doubt.
For two years Chevy has been bragging about this great Equinox EV and how it would be a game changer. I KNEW they would kick back the date of this release the moment the Lyriq disaster started….and they waited until after it was supposed to be delivered before even announcing it would be delayed! GM simply does not have a competent engineering staff nor the experience to handle mass electric car production. Since their first electric car was produced in 2010 they have sold LESS than 100,000 electric vehicles to this date. THAT’S 14 years. And recently they stated they would build 400.000 electric cars in 2024 alone! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. That would be like a 20X increase over what they produced this year. GM is all talk with very little product to back it up. In 2024 they will be at the bottom of the list for the top 10 electric car makers. They will never overtake Telsa in our lifetimes…they missed that boat years ago. I believe the Equinox EV will start to come off the assembly line in the US in the second half of 2024 but I wouldn’t put any money on it. You can’t trust what comes out of the mouths of the coporate execs.
You must have stopped counting around 2017 when GM sold their 200k EV (Volt/Bolt EV). They lost the original EV tax credit 6 months after Tesla.
“GM simply does not have a competent engineering staff”
I would strongly disagree. I think it’s clear that their engineering staff has finally gotten through to the executives. If you read the Honda announcement, they bluntly stated that a sub-$30k EV with a satisfactory sized battery just wasn’t viable, and that was using GM’s architecture.
That’s a pretty big clue about these delays.
50 subscriptions??? I will not buy a vehicle that needs a subscription for anything that shouldn’t need remote server access to function. Heated seats, remote start, etc. I’m not doing it. Additionally, I will happily put new equipment on my car to use Android Auto that I’ve already paid for via my phone purchase as opposed to paying a subscription for a similar function from GM, on principle.
They’re all hedging their bets to see if toyota will deliver their solid state battery. If even half it’s advertised spec is met they’ll beat any other ev out there. If they meet spec good bye ice. Sub $35k price all roads lead to toyota.
Solid state batteries are prohibitively expensive. Getting that cost down is one of the goals, but that’s not going to happen right away.
GM has investments in sold state batteries as well. Also sold state batteries are built on the same equipment as pouch style batteries like GM build in their UItium factories. So GM still has the benefit of having several battery factories available to them.