IS THIS WHY GM DIDN’T WANT HOLDEN?

General Motors’ move to 100 per cent EVs wouldn’t have worked in Australia

General Motors chief executive Mary Barra (pictured) has announced that the brand aims to lead the industry in carbon reduction by going completely electric in its light vehicles by 2035 and be carbon neutral in all of its operations by 2040.

That means every GM car will be zero-emissions (plug-in electric or perhaps hydrogen) in 14 years. All of them. Yes, even the Corvette.

“With these actions, GM is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world,” says Barra. “We believe that with our scale and reach we can encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.” It’s very much a post-Trump move. The US re-signed to the 2015 Paris Agreement on President’s Biden’s first day in office and Barra has stated a commitment to work towards its most ambitious goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. GM has signed the Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees Celsius commitment and will be submitting its processes to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) for verification.

The GM announcement has already given Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council an opportunity to stick the knife into the country’s backward attitude towards EVs.

“It’s no coincidence that GM decided to pull out of Australia shortly before making this announcement,” says EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari. “The unimaginative and cynical approach our politicians have taken to electric vehicles in recent years means Australia is being left behind as the rest of the auto industry zooms ahead.”