General Motors: Finding opportunity in a disruptive period of change
The change that is gaining the most attention today is the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Self-driving cars are already in advanced testing on our roads ...
You would have to go back to the days of GM Canada founder, Col. Sam McLaughlin, and the rise of motor-driven carriages in Canada to see a change as significant as what we’re managing through in the auto sector today. The colonel was one of Canada’s greatest business innovators; he transformed one of the largest horse-drawn carriage companies in the British Empire into one of the first automotive companies in North America. Like today, that was a very disruptive period of change.
Next year we’ll celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of General Motors in Canada. It will be a time to reflect on our rich history, but I think if he were with us today, Col. Sam would be focused on innovation, the changing needs of our customers, and the future of mobility.
Today it’s clear that the future of mobility will be electric, connected, autonomous and an integral part of the fast-growing sharing economy. These trends are accelerating the fastest in urban areas like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, which have all the right ingredients to become future “Smart Cities” on the global stage.
The most visible change on our roads today is the emergence of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). Many people are surprised to learn that GM has been the leader in EV sales in Canada for the last five years. In fact, Chevrolet sells more plug-in electric vehicles in Canada than any other brand.
The Chevrolet Volt continues to expand its sales month over month, and earlier this year we launched a real industry gamechanger: the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Canada’s first affordable longrange electric vehicle.
The Bolt EV has a U.S. EPA-estimated 383 kilometres of range on a single charge. Customers can expect the Bolt EV to take them beyond their average daily driving needs with plenty of range to spare. However, there is still work ahead to address our charging infrastructure needs and educate consumers about the tremendous benefits of EV driving.
A second change of major attention for our customers is the connected car. For more than 20 years, GM’s OnStar technology has been keeping our customers connected to mobile networks to help ensure their safety. The safety and entertainment benefits of mobile connectivity has quickly multiplied and become a must-have feature for new-car purchasers. GM has the most connected vehicles on Canadian roads with more than 650,000 vehicles equipped with 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spots, Apple Car Play and Android Auto. With the emergence of mobile solutions like myChevrolet, customers now leave our showrooms with not only their vehicle, but an app that gives them the ability to start, lock or unlock the vehicle from almost anywhere and access real-time maintenance information on fuel and oil life remaining, tire pressure, and even book their next dealer visit for service — all from the palm of a hand.
The change that is gaining the most attention today is the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Self-driving cars are already in advanced testing on our roads and Chevrolet has one of the largest test fleets of autonomous vehicles operating in North America. This past spring, GM also became the first high-volume auto manufacturer to build fully autonomous vehicles using mass production methods at our Orion assembly plant in Michigan. Our engineers are currently testing 50 Chevrolet Bolt EVs equipped with self-driving technology in San Francisco, Scottsdale, Detroit and here at our Canadian Technical Centre in Kapuskasing, Ont.
Many of the active safety features you see on our new vehicles today, like Lane Keep Assist and full-speed range Adaptive Cruise Control, are among the many technology building blocks that have brought us to the cusp of autonomous driving. With the launch of our Super Cruise system this fall on the Cadillac CT6, we’re taking one more step out of the lab and into consumers’ driveways.
Super Cruise is the first assisted driving technology that will use precision LiDAR map data in addition to real-time cameras, sensors and GPS. I can tell you first-hand that it is a tremendous new feature for Cadillac drivers.
The last trend we see emerging is the rise of the sharing economy specifically in the forms of ride sharing and car sharing. GM’s president, Dan Ammann, said it best: “Lots of people say they love to drive, but I haven’t met anyone yet who says they love their commute.”
This trend has shifted into an opportunity and GM has been moving fast in the sharing economy. We launched Maven, a new GM brand that’s dedicated to vehiclesharing and ride-hailing. Maven has rolled out in 17 cities across North America with over 9.2 million rides given and over 283,000 total kilometres driven — enough to go around the world more than seven times. About 79 per cent of reserving Maven members are millennials — including those engaged in our Maven Canadian pilot program in Kitchener-Waterloo.
So how are we responding to these trends in Canada? I believe the answer comes down to the word “opportunity.”
As part of our June 2016 announcement of a new engineering innovation mandate in Canada, we have now opened our newest 150,000 square-foot Canadian Technical Centre in Markham, Ont., where we are developing new autonomous vehicle software and controls, infotainment and connected vehicle technologies.
We are also on track for the development of the new Toronto GM Mobility Campus located in southeast Toronto on Eastern Ave. This seven-acre site will be the future home of a multi-use facility including office space, R&D, sales and service, and a public experience centre featuring innovations in mobility.
We are thinking further ahead as well by placing a strong focus at GM on supporting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education programs from elementary school through to university, particularly focused on young women, to help ensure the next generation of innovators receives the knowledge and skills to help us lead the future of mobility.
Looking still further down the road, more change is on our doorstep.
The number of web connected devices is expected to grow from 14 billion today to over 50 billion. And by 2030, 60 per cent of the world will live in cities, many emerging as “Smart Cities.” The overarching mission of a smart city is to optimize city functions and drive economic growth while improving quality of life for its citizens using smart technology and data analysis. One of these functions includes seamless smart mobility solutions and that’s where we see the four trends of electric, connected, autonomous and shared ultimately coming together — a future of mobility that promises zero emissions, zero congestion and zero collisions.
This creates an opportunity for Canada to be a leader as we develop new partnerships with policy makers, emerging technology companies, academics and others to help create sustainable urban living.
It’s a great challenge. Col. Sam McLaughlin would have liked nothing better.
... We see the four trends of electric, connected, autonomous and shared ultimately coming together (in seamless smart mobility solutions) — a future of mobility that promises zero emissions, zero congestion and zero collisions.
STEVE CARLISLE