In the US auto market, the shift towards electric cars is reaching the big pickups. Top dog General Motors wants to use its position to defend this business against Tesla and other attackers.
The US auto giant General Motors is emulating Tesla and wants to overtake the electric car pioneer in its home market. The plan is to fund the change with profits from the internal combustion engine business, GM said.
By 2030, more than half of the production capacities in North America and China are to be equipped for the production of electric cars, it said. GM recently announced that it would invest around $ 35 billion (currently a good 30 billion euros) in the production of battery-powered and self-driving vehicles by 2025.
In addition, GM wants to increasingly rely on digital offers. The company sees the potential for 20 to 25 billion dollars in additional revenue annually, said CEO Mary Barra. You have to see a car not just as a vehicle, but as a software platform, she emphasized. GM plans to double group sales to $ 280 billion by 2030.
«Cybertruck» versus «Ultra Cruise»
In the American car market, the large pickups are traditionally the most popular and lucrative vehicle category – and the manufacturers are currently positioning themselves for a new competition for this business with electric models. Ford has already presented a battery version of its bestseller F-150, GM plans to present an electric Chevrolet Silverado as a competing offer at the CES technology fair in January.
Tesla wants to attack the pickup top dogs with its futuristic-looking “cybertruck”. At the same time, brand new players such as the Amazon-financed company Rivian are striving into the business.
Under the name “Ultra Cruise”, GM also wants to bring a highly developed driver assistance system into its cars by 2023 that will also work in city traffic. First of all, roads in the USA and Canada are to be covered. The vehicle should not only capture its surroundings with cameras, but also scan it with a laser radar. The so-called lidar systems are currently used in self-driving test vehicles.
GM made the announcements during an investor day. Traditional automakers are dwarfed by Tesla on the stock exchange. The electric car specialist, led by Elon Musk, is currently worth a good 780 billion dollars – GM only around a tenth of that.
In the electric vehicle business, GM wants to compete with Tesla with an SUV for around 30,000 dollars, but did not provide any information on the possible launch date. Like the entire industry, the group is currently being held back by chip bottlenecks.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
