- GM CEO is “surprised” by political EVs
- Barra said GM is on track to become EV-only by 2035 if customers are ready
- GM's Corvette boss didn't commit to an electric Corvette, but it has already been confirmed.
A GM executive is surprised that EVs have become a political lightning rod.
“That's right it surprised me; “I never thought that the self-driving car program would be (a political issue),” said GM CEO Mary Barra during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning's Kris Van Cleave.
In 2021, GM said it would not sell vehicles with exhaust pipes by 2035 and aims to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2040.
All EV collateral is still-in-kind. Barra told Van Cleave that GM's light-duty vehicles (ie, not its heavy-duty trucks) will only be eligible to be EVs by the early 2035 mark. But Barra was quick to note that the automaker “will be directed by the consumer, but the plans we have will take us there.”
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In 2022 GM announced that it will produce 1 million EVs in North America annually by 2025. That included 600,000 electric trucks. But that won't happen. Barra pulled back on EV targets in July noting a drop in demand.
Dealing with anxiety about softening EV salesBarra noted that the automaker never thought this would be a line changer. While the EV market share is declining in California, overall EV sales are at the leading level of EV sales in the US market.
Van Cleave asked Barra what legacy car manufacturers can go fast enough competing on the world stage against Chinese automakers. “I believe that yes, yes we can and I think yes we are. Our staff is young,” said Barra.
Barra noted that most of GM's technical talent has been with the company for less than five years. He said “almost 40% young, young, workers they joined GM because they wanted to be part of a company that would change and lead the transition to electric vehicles.”
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Van Cleave also spoke with Tony Roma, chief engineer of the Corvette sports car. When asked about Electric Corvette The Roms told Van Cleave that GM would not electrify as a result. “It has to come in and make the cars better in a way that our customers will respond to,” said Rom.
GM president Mark Reuss announced in 2022 that an electric Corvette is in the works. First to arrive will be the electrified Corvette E-Ray hybrid, due in 2023. No timeline has been given for the electric Corvette, but Reuss noted that it will be Ultium-based, meaning it won't ride on the current C8 Corvette. the chassis.