- general motors ceo mary barra told investors tuesday that gm plans to deliver 400,000 evs by the end of 2023, according to automotive news.
- barra also said that gm will build a third electric truck factory to supplement factory zero and the orion assembly plant, which will be converted to build the silverado ev.
- gm sold fewer than 25,000 evs last year but plans to launch several electric models in the next two years.
nearly every automaker has made bold promises about the number of electric vehicles they will introduce in the coming decade, but their ambitious plans ultimately depend on americans actually buying evs over gas-powered cars. electrified vehicles—including plug-in and traditional hybrid vehicles—still made up less than 10 percent of overall car sales in the united states in 2021. nonetheless, general motors ceo mary barra announced tuesday that gm aims to deliver 400,000 evs in north america by the end of 2023, as reported by automotive news.
to help meet this lofty goal, gm plans to release 20 evs in the united states through 2025, with 10 additional evs for global markets. gm announced last week that it would convert the orion assembly plant, which currently makes the chevy bolt ev and euv, to build the chevy silverado ev and its yet-to-be-revealed gmc sierra counterpart. the factory zero plant in detroit is already building the gmc hummer ev, and barra said tuesday that it will add a third factory dedicated to electric trucks. a planned facility in lansing, michigan, will construct the ultium battery that is set to underpin many of gm's upcoming evs.
barra said that these investments will result in more than a million units of ev capacity—including 600,000 full-size trucks—in north america by the end of 2025. last year, gm sold fewer than 25,000 evs in the u.s.—24,828 bolt ev and euvs were delivered, while just one hummer ev reached a customer. that figure was the highest for the bolt since it launched in 2016 despite chevy's addition of the euv crossover model, although a costly recall limited deliveries to 25 units in the final quarter.
still, gm has a long way to go if it wants to sell 400,000 evs in the next two years. an aggressive product expansion is planned. the gmc hummer ev is already being delivered, while silverado ev production will start in 2023. chevy is also planning electric versions of the equinox and blazer crossovers, gmc will have an ev version of the sierra, and gm is building brightdrop vans for commercial customers. cadillac will launch its lyriq crossover this spring, with the flagship celestiq arriving at some point down the line. buick will likely also gain an ev in the coming years, although no announcements have been made yet.