GM Has a Radical Plan for EVs: Actually Turn a Profit

Earlier this month, General Motors announced plans to introduce a new electric vehicle platform in 2021. Eventually, that platform will underpin nine different vehicles as GM pushes to sell 1 million EVs by 2026. But GM isn’t interested in reaching that goal at any cost. According to CEO Mary Barra, it also plans to make a profit on EVs.

Automotive News reports that the new platform will reduce costs by at least 30 percent and will actually be used on 11 vehicles, not the nine we originally reported. The automaker also reportedly has plans to increase the availability of fast-charge stations and to leverage “a very important strategic relationship” with its battery suppliers. If things go according to plan, working with those suppliers will allow GM to bring the cost of battery production down from $145 per kilowatt-hour to about $100 per kWh.

“We are working to provide desirable, obtainable and profitable vehicles that deliver a range of over 300 miles,” Barra said in a speech last week. “There’s a lot of really creative things we’re doing to achieve that profitability point for that new platform.”

To further reduce costs and help drive profitability, Barra said GM plans to integrate the batteries into the platform itself and develop a scalable architecture that will work for its entire lineup of EVs, from a large luxury SUV to smaller “low roof” cars. Before that platform debuts in 2021, though, GM plans to introduce four new EVs based on the current one. At the moment, it’s not clear exactly what they will be, but at least two of the four will probably be SUVs.

Currently, GM sells the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt, a car that not only won our 2017 Car of the Year award but has also sold more than 17,000 units in the U.S. though October of this year.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

The post GM Has a Radical Plan for EVs: Actually Turn a Profit appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/2hG31ol