According to foreign media insideevs, GM will focus on producing cheap electric vehicles as one of the strategic measures to surpass Tesla. GM CEO Mary Bora said in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance that GM wants to replace Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer by making cheaper electric vehicles.
"GM is going all out. In five years, our electric vehicle sales in the United States will surpass other car companies, including Tesla." Said Mary bora.
In an interview, Mary Bora said that in addition to introducing high-end models, GM will also launch electric vehicles below 30000 US dollars (about 200000 yuan), so as to further obtain greater market share through the high-end + cheap strategy.
As a leader in the era of fuel vehicles, GM has also made many efforts in the transformation of electrification. There is still a long way to go if it wants to continue to maintain its leading position.
1、 It will launch new cars with a price of less than $30000 and cooperate with Honda to reduce costs
At the beginning of last month, general motors and Honda announced that the two sides would cooperate to develop a series of low-cost electric vehicles based on the new joint platform. This cooperation would make full use of the advantages of the two companies in technology, design and supply chain.
The electric vehicles jointly produced by GM and Honda will include popular segments such as compact electric crossover vehicles, which are expected to go on sale in 2027.
In addition, in order to reduce costs and reduce the burden on consumers, the two car companies will cooperate in electric vehicle battery technology in the future, so as to further reduce the electrification cost, improve the performance of electric vehicles and promote the sustainability of vehicles.
In addition, the two companies will also be committed to standardizing equipment and processes to achieve high quality and low cost of vehicles through large-scale production.
From the perspective of GM's upcoming models, the starting price of 2024 Chevrolet electric vehicles and another unpublished electric vehicle will be less than $30000 (about 200000 yuan).
▲ Chevrolet Explorer ev
At present, GM's cheapest electric vehicle is the Chevrolet bolt electric vehicle, with a starting price of US $31500 (about 210000 yuan); The price of its rival Tesla's entry-level electric vehicle model 3 is $469900 (about 314000 yuan), and the price of this car is also rising.
Among the electric vehicles recently launched or to be launched this year by general motors, the price of Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup is the lowest, with a price of 39900 US dollars (about 266000 yuan). More high-end models such as cadillac lyriq and GMC Hummer electric vehicles are positioned in the luxury market, starting at $58800 (about 39000 yuan) and $79900 (about 530000 yuan) respectively.
▲ Cadillac lyriq
2、 Previously, it announced to invest US $7 billion in electrification and cooperate with raw material enterprises
In January, GM issued an investment announcement with a total amount of $7 billion.
GM said it would invest more than $7 billion (44.27 billion yuan) in four manufacturing bases in Michigan by 2024 to increase the production of electric pickup trucks.
According to the investment announcement issued by GM, GM will invest US $2.6 billion (about 16.45 billion yuan) to build a new battery factory through LG new energy joint venture in Michigan.
▲ general battery factory
It is reported that the new battery factory covers an area of about 260000 square meters and will be put into operation by the end of 2024. This is also GM's third battery factory in the United States. The other two are battery plants in lodestown, Ohio, which are expected to go offline later this year; Another battery factory in Tennessee will go offline in 2023. Foreign media predict that GM is likely to set up a new battery factory.
In order to speed up the transformation of electric vehicle business, GM has actually cooperated with a number of raw material enterprises.
Last December, GM established a joint venture partnership with the German company vacuumschmelze (VAC) and plans to build a factory in the United States to manufacture permanent magnets for motors for GM's future electric vehicles.
GM has also established a joint venture partnership with POSCO chemical, a Korean battery materials company, and plans to build a plant in North America to process battery materials for GM's ultium electric vehicle platform.
It is understood that the joint venture will produce "cathode active material" (CAM), which is a key battery material. According to GM, cam accounts for about 40% of its battery cost.
In October 2021, GM announced that it had reached a strategic supplier agreement with wolfspeed, a North Carolina based semiconductor company, to develop and provide silicon carbide (SIC) power solutions for GM's future electric vehicles.
Conclusion: GM is struggling to transition to electrification
In 2021, Tesla's share in the global electric vehicle market was close to 14%, while GM's market share was 7.6%.
GM accelerated its electrification transformation by investing and cooperating in the field of electric vehicles, and established the goal of "surpassing Tesla". We can see the anxiety of this traditional car company in the transformation to electrification.
But for now, the difficulties facing GM are still arduous, and Tesla will not stagnate during this period. Previously, Tesla CEO musk said he would launch a new model of $25000 (about 167000 yuan). After the launch of Tesla cheap model, GM's low-cost strategy will be further challenged.
Whether it can surpass Tesla or not, it can narrow the gap with Tesla through electrification transformation and occupy a place in the wave of electrification.