Mary Barra says GM is well-positioned despite the economy with new EV launches
General Motors leader and CEO Mary Barra talked about the automaker’s upcoming electric vehicle plans, saying the company is well-positioned to weather an economic storm in an interview. GM is launching several EV models and supporting energy products that Barra believes will see high demand, no matter the state of the economy.
With interest rates climbing at a historic rate, many are wondering how it will impact the high-flying auto market.
In an interview with Yahoo, Mary Barra spoke about GM’s potential as consumer preference trended toward electric cars, adding EVs are a “significant growth” opportunity. In addition, she says that EVs are more than “how you get to point A to point B,” as they can be used as powerful energy sources.
GM is leveraging its battery technology, spinning it into a newly established business called GM Energy to offer clean energy and storage solutions for residential and commercial customers.
Ultium Home, the company’s residential energy management business, allows consumers to utilize vehicle-to-home (V2H) technology with their EVs, creating an energy management system and microgrid. GM says it’s designing electric vehicles that can keep the lights on for up to 21 days.
When asked how big of a business GM Energy can be, Barra says that accelerating EV adoption and a new interest in sustainable energy can create a growth opportunity for its energy business.
Like Ford and Tesla, GM is focusing on services it can offer outside of building electric vehicles to diversify its income streams in case the economy weakens and vehicle demand slows.
The past several years have favored the auto industry as high demand and limited supply have led to favorable margins and growth. With several new EV launches in key market segments, Barra says the company is making sure it will be able to fund the company regardless of the economy.
How GM’s upcoming EV launches can soften an economic downfall
GM already has several of the lowest-priced EVs on the market with the Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, which just had its best quarter with 15,000 US deliveries. The automaker also offers higher-end EVs in the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq.
Meanwhile, in September, GM explained its strategy to provide an EV everywhere, launching a model in every significant auto segment. The GM models coming to market include:
Barra points out the Equinox EV is launching in the highest volume segment and is already having a positive response. A big reason for the interest is the price point of around $30,000, which Barra refers to as the “sweet spot” in the market.
Referring to the economy, Barra states:
I think we’re listening to what everyone else is saying around the globe, and so we’re preparing next year for a year that will look more like we have a little– it will actually be more demand but a little less demand than what we would think because we’re going to be conservative, make sure we set our cost structure up that way. So then if things turn out better, we’re well positioned.
Most importantly, she adds, with so many EV launches coming, GM is prioritizing future funding to ensure the company’s success, regardless of the state of the economy.
GM aims to sell one million EVs with over $35 billion in investments by 2025. According to Barra, the automaker has the supply agreements locked up to achieve that target as its second battery plant began operation in Ohio last month.
Electrek’s Take
While larger, more expensive electric models are in high demand right now, if the economy turns and consumers cut back on spending, smaller, less expensive EVs will likely steal the shine.
For example, in a similar economic scenario (high inflation, Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy) in the early 1980s, auto sales plummeted 20% YOY in 1980 as consumers cut back on spending. The fallout triggered a transition to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. It also happened during the great financial crisis of 2008 to 2009.
This is the segment GM is targeting with its cost-effective, EV-for-everyone approach. If they can successfully launch and scale EV production, GM will be in a good position to weather the economy.
At the same time, with several highly-anticipated EV launches coming, Barra is right to focus on generating alternative sources of revenue. When an economic downturn happens, GM should know by now that cash is king and that will allow them to continue funding operations while getting ready for the next chapter in the auto industry.
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National Grid Renewables has broken ground on its 100 MW Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin solar farm, which will use US-made First Solar Series 6 Plus bifacial modules, will be constructed by The Boldt Company, creating 150 construction and service jobs. Apple River Solar will generate over $36 million in direct economic benefits over its first 20 years.
Once it comes online in late 2025, Apple River Solar will supply clean energy to Xcel Energy, which serves customers throughout the Upper Midwest. According to National Grid Renewables, the solar farm will generate enough energy to power around 26,000 homes annually. It will also offset about 129,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year – equivalent to taking 30,900 cars off the road.
“We are excited to see this project begin as it underscores our dedication to delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers,” said Karl Hoesly, President, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan. “This project is an important step in those goals while bringing significant economic benefits to Polk County and the local townships.”
Electrek reported in February that Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest utility, expects to cut more than 80% – and possibly up to 88% – of its emissions by 2030, putting it on track to hit Minnesota’s goal of net zero by 2040. It also says it’s on track to achieve its clean energy goals for all the Upper Midwest states it serves – Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.
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Tesla has announced that it will finally deliver 500 kW charging as it is about to install its long-awaited V4 Supercharger cabinets.
The rollout of Supercharger V4 has been a strange one, to say the least.
Tesla has been deploying the new charging stations for two years and calling them “Supercharger V4”, but it has only been deploying the charging stalls.
Supercharger stations are made of two main parts: the stalls, which are where the charging cable is located, and the cabinets, which are generally located further back and include all the power electronics.
For all these new “Supercharger V4”, Tesla was actually using Supercharger V3 cabinets. This has been limiting the power output of the charging stations to 250 kW – although
Today, Tesla officially announced its “V4 Cabinet”, which the automaker claims will enable of “delivering up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for Semi.”
Here are the main features of the V4 Cabinet as per Tesla:
- Faster charging: Supports 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, including 30% faster charging for Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles enjoy 250kW charge rates they already experience on V3 Cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.
- Faster deployments: V4 Cabinet powers 8 posts, 2X the stalls per cabinet. Lower footprint and complexity = more sites coming online faster.
- Next-generation hardware: Cutting-edge power electronics designed to be the most reliable on the planet, with 3X power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.
Tesla reports that its first sites with the new V4 Cabinets are going into permitting now. The company expects its first sites to open next year.
We recently reported about Tesla’s new Oasis Supercharger project, which includes larger solar arrays and battery packs to operate the charging station mostly off-grid.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to all Supercharger stations, and Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
It took about 8 years, but it sounds like the pieces are now getting actually in place with Supercharger V4, Megapacks, and this new Oasis project.
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Hyundai has a new secret weapon it’s about ready to unleash. To revamp the brand in China and counter BYD’s surge, Hyundai is launching a new AI-powered EV next year. The new model will be Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car for the world’s largest EV market.
With the help of Haomo, a Chinese autonomous startup, Hyundai will launch its first EV equipped with generative AI. It will also be its first model designed specifically for China.
A Hyundai Motor official said (via The Korea Herald) the company is “working to load the software” onto the new EV model, “which will be released in the Chinese market next year.” The spokesperson added, “The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5.”
In comparison, Tesla’s Autopilot is considered a level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) on the SAE scale (0 to 5), meaning it offers limited hands-free features.
With Autopilot, you still have to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel, or the system will notify you and eventually disengage.
Haomo’s system, DriveGPT, unveiled last spring, takes inspiration from the OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT.
The system can continuously update in real-time to optimize decision-making by absorbing traffic data patterns. According to Haomo, DriveGPT is used in around 20 models as it looks to play a bigger role in China.
Hyundai hopes new AI-powered EV boosts sales in China
Electric vehicle sales continue surging in China. According to Rho Motion, China set another EV sales record last month with 1.2 million units sold, up 50% from October 2023.
Over 8.4 million EVs were sold in China in the first ten months of 2024, a notable 38% increase from last year.
BYD continues to dominate its home market. According to Autovista24, BYD accounted for 32.9% of all PHEV and EV (NEV) sales in China through September, with over half of the top 20 best-selling EV models.
Tesla was second with a 6.5% share of the market, but keep in mind these numbers only include plug-in models (PHEV).
Like most foreign automakers, Hyundai is struggling to keep up with the influx of low-cost electric models in China. Beijing Hyundai’s sales have been slipping since 2017. Through September, Korean automaker’s share of the Chinese market fell to just 1.2%.
Last month, Hyundai opened its first overseas digital R&D center in China to help kick off its return to the region.
According to local reports, Hyundai is partnering with other local tech companies like Thundersoft, a smart cockpit provider, and others in China to power up its next-gen EVs
With its first AI-powered EV launching next year, Hyundai hopes to turn things around in the region quickly. The new model will be one of five to launch in China through 2026.
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