The Oklahoman

GM aims to double revenue by 2030, lead nation in EV sales

Plans to sell only electric passenger vehicles

- Tom Krisher

WARREN, Mich. – General Motors plans to cash in as the world switches from combustion engines to battery power, promising to double its annual revenue by 2030 with an array of new electric vehicles, profitable gas-powered cars and trucks, and services such as an electronic driving system that can handle most tasks on the road.

In announceme­nts Wednesday ahead of a two-day investor event in suburban Detroit, the company also pledged to unseat Tesla and become the electric vehicle market share leader in U.S., although no time frame was given.

The Detroit automaker plans to have more than half of its North American and China factories be capable of making electric vehicles by 2030.

The company also teased upcoming new electric vehicles including a Chevrolet small SUV that will cost around $30,000, as well as electric trucks from Chevrolet and GMC, crossover SUVs from Buick, and luxury vehicles from Cadillac. An electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that can go 400 miles per charge will be unveiled at the CES gadget show in January.

The Detroit automaker plans to have more than half of its North American and China factories be capable of making electric vehicles by 2030.

GM took in $122.5 billion in revenue in 2020, a year that was depressed by the arrival of the novel coronaviru­s pandemic. Doubling it would be close to $250 billion.

To get there, CEO Mary Barra said the company’s revenue would rise from selling internal combustion vehicles, while at the same time revenue would be added from new electric vehicles. GM also plans to raise cash from software and subscripti­on services including insurance and its OnStar safety system, as well as its Cruise majorityow­ned autonomous vehicle subsidiary. And executives said it should gain revenue from its defense and Brightdrop commercial vehicle businesses.

Barra said the company could see a $20 billion to $25 billion annual revenue increase from software and services.

Another revenue source will be Ultra Cruise, GM’s next generation of electronic hands-free driver-assist system that will be able to take on 95% of driving tasks. The company said the system, due in selected Cadillac luxury vehicles in 2023, will be a “virtually doorto-door hands-free driving experience.”

It will use cameras, radar and laser sensors to follow navigation routes and speed limits, automatica­lly change lanes, obey traffic signals and make turns on 2 million miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada. Eventually it will learn all paved roads in both countries.

GM will still offer its less sophistica­ted “Super Cruise” driver assist system, and it’s coming in 22 vehicles by 2023, Barra said.

To capture U.S. electric vehicle market share leadership, GM plans to spend $35 billion to roll out more than 30 new battery vehicles globally by 2025. The company has set a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.

GM will have to overtake Tesla, which over the weekend reported record third-quarter sales of 241,300 electric vehicles, a 72% increase over the prior year.

GM wouldn’t say when it would take the lead, but Barra said GM would have a strong portfolio of affordable electric vehicles as well as an upcoming reliable charging infrastruc­ture. The company also has existing factories that can efficiently be converted to built EVs, and a dealership network for service, she said.

“That’s why we believe that we’re going to attract those customers,” Barra said. “she said. ”There’s a lot of things that we have that when we put our foot on the accelerato­r pedal, we can really move quite profitably.”

EV leader Tesla has had to spend billions to build huge new assembly plants from the ground up near Austin, Texas, and in Germany and China.

While GM may have lofty visions for the future, it’s struggling in the present with the global shortage of computer chips. Third-quarter sales were down nearly 33%, and GM has lost nearly 2 percentage points of U.S. market share since 2019. The company’s share is 15.2% of the market so far this year, according to figures compiled by Edmunds.com.

GM and other automakers have been forced to temporaril­y close factories due to a lack of chips.

 ?? MATT ROURKE/AP FILE ?? General Motors has pledged to unseat Tesla and become the electric vehicle market share leader in the U.S.
MATT ROURKE/AP FILE General Motors has pledged to unseat Tesla and become the electric vehicle market share leader in the U.S.

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