GM moving at ‘full steam’ in electric vehicle market
General Motors made more than 10 times as many cars as Tesla last year and significantly more profit. Yet Tesla has a market value of about $1 trillion, more than 10 times that of GM.
At the Dealbook Online Summit on Wednesday, GM’S chief executive, Mary T. Barra, said that didn’t bother her. She said she was confident that GM would eventually be rewarded in the stock market for its investment in electric vehicles.
“General Motors is so undervalued as we start this wonderful period we’re in because we invested over three, four years ago in electric vehicles,” Barra said.
Investors’ attraction to companies focused on electric vehicles was demonstrated anew Wednesday when shares in Rivian — whose production so far is paltry — traded at a valuation comparable to GM’S.
GM is in the midst of a plan to spend $35 billion from 2020 to 2025 on electric vehicles and self-driving technology. The company plans to develop 20 new electric models for the U.S. market, overhaul its factories to churn them out and produce battery packs in high volumes with its partner LG Electronics.
“We’ll have our own battery plant up and running next year,” Barra said. “So I’m excited to get all these vehicles out. I see this as a huge opportunity for General Motors to capture significantly more value.”
She noted that GM aimed to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. “We are full steam ahead,” she said. “We are full EV ahead.”
The first of the new generation of electric models will be a GMC Hummer pickup truck, followed by the Cadillac Lyriq, an electric SUV.
“I’m waiting for my Hummer,” Barra said. “I managed to get my name on the list.”