“We intend to lead” Did Elon hear the gauntlet being thrown?
GM’s Barra sends a strong message to auto industry
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Mary Barra seems like a very pleasant person. I met her once during a session with journalists discussing the future of General Motors (GM). She’s straightforward with a comfortable manner. Her leadership style is considered inclusive.
So, during her keynote for the Consumer Electronics Show, there was no bombastic swagger as she delivered the message on the direction of GM in the next decade as vehicles become electrified and self-driving. But, she matter-of-factly proclaimed that GM will be the leader in electric vehicles.
GM CEO Mary Barra declares her company plans to be the number one EV producer. (Credit: CES-GM)
That’s a bold statement and certainly is not the case today. Elon Musk has driven Tesla to become not just the leader in the US, but the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker.
TO LEAD
Mary Barra took direct aim at that title in her presentation. “We are expanding our position in autonomous driving and electric vehicles and we intend to lead in both,” she said, directly and calmly. Barra has talked about the billions of dollars in investments in new vehicles in the company's attempt to gain the title as the largest EV maker. But now she has a vehicle platform, a software program, and a growing autonomy company to try to make that a reality.
Barra describes the new vehicle platform that GM calls Ultium. (Credit: CES-GM)
This proclamation came in the same week that Toyota passed GM as the largest car maker in the US. Toyota has growth plans for EVs, as do Ford, Stellantis, and most other carmakers and manufacturers around the world.
EV COMPETITION
Ford has received a lot of attention for pre-orders of the F-150 Lightning and news last week it will nearly double production. Ford got to market first by electrifying the F-150 on its existing chassis. America likes its trucks and they are the profit center for legacy carmakers.
Part of the unveiling video of the Chevrolet Silverado EV. (Credit: CES-GM)
Barra answered all that attention directed at Ford with the unveiling of the Chevrolet Silverado EV. The CEO showed off a luxury model that will go for $105,000 and promised a work version at about $40,000. The company promises 30 EV models in the next four years. The floodgates are about to open.
The day before Barra’s keynote a Tesla “owners” group pointed out on Twitter that GM only delivered 26 individual EVs in the entire 4th quarter of 2021 (mostly due to a battery recall). Elon Musk responded that GM, “has room to improve.”
NEW PLATFORMS
That’s what Barra told the audience GM has done. It has created an electric vehicle platform that can be used for multiple vehicles. Barra has also created a software system to operate them and allow over the air updates, which Tesla already does. The investment in the autonomous driving company Cruise appears to be paying off. Barra sounded like Musk when she said autonomous vehicles will be ready by the middle of the decade.
The GM CEO believes the company will offer a self-driving consumer vehicle by 2025. (Credit: CES-GM)
While Musk’s portfolio is broad, having invested in rockets, tunnel digging, and a company trying to create links between our brains and computers, Barra has bigger plans too.
THE PROTOTYPES
GM is working on delivery vehicles, small vehicles for factory work, ride-share, and, flying transport (the flying car!). The company showed off a couple prototypes during the presentation.
Concept vehicles presented under the Cadillac brand at CES. (Credit: CES-GM)
Barra says this is the year of the EV. This is the “tipping point,” of what she described as a, “massive year.” “Make no mistake this is a movement,” she declared.
Now we will see if she and GM can deliver.
Barra on the future on EVs. (Credit: CES-GM)
(Cover photo credit: GM)
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