GM increases investment into electric vehicles to $35 billion
General Motors has confirmed it will increase its investments into electric and automated vehicles from 2020 through 2025 to $35 billion.
The announcement marks a 75% increase from GM’s initial commitment which was outlined before the pandemic.
According to the company, the move will accelerate its transformative strategy to become the market leader in electric vehicles in North America. It will also help it to become the first manufacturer to safely commercialize self-driving technology at scale.
The increased investment builds on GM’s initial commitment in March 2020 to invest $20 billion from 2020 through 2025, including capital, engineering expenses and other development costs, to accelerate its transition to EVs and AVs. In November 2020, the company increased its planned investment over the same period to $27 billion.
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said: “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.
“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. 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.”
GM first revealed its plans for ‘zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion’ nearly four years ago, with its GMC Hummer EV and Hummer EV SUV models, as well as the Cadillac LYRIQ and the Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup.
GM says the additional investments and new collaborations will enable it to accelerate Ultium battery cell production in the United States, with plans to build two new battery cell manufacturing plants in the United States by mid-decade.
The firm will also look to U.S.-made Ultium batteries and Hydrotec fuel cells whilst expanding and accelerating the rollout of EVs for retail and fleet customers.
In November 2020, GM announced it would deliver 30 new electric vehicles by 2025 globally, with two-thirds available in North America. Through the additional investments, GM said it will add to its North America plan new electric commercial trucks and other products that will take advantage of the creative design opportunities and flexibility enabled by the Ultium Platform.
In addition, GM will add additional U.S. assembly capacity for EV SUVs, with details to be announced at a later date.
