GM releases Q3 numbers, Bolt leads the way while Ultium finally ramps
GM has released its Q3 delivery numbers and EV sales are plugging along, most notably with a huge increase in deliveries of GM’s first Ultium vehicles, the Cadillac Lyriq and Hummer EV, suggesting that GM might finally be getting Ultium off the ground.
But compared to GM’s overall non-EV sales, the Q3 total of just over 20,000 EVs sold represents a rather small percentage for a company that has repeatedly stated it is “all-in” on EVs.
The leader of the pack for GM’s EVs, as it has been for many years now, was the Bolt. Between EV and EUV models, Bolt sold 15,835 units, up 13% from Q2. This is not quite a record quarter for Bolt – that came at the start of this year with 19,700 in Q1.
But it is quite solid, especially for a vehicle that is going to be discontinued at the end of this year. It’s not often that vehicles have their best year of sales in their last year of existence, but it looks like that’s what’s about to happen for the Bolt.
No wonder, given what a screaming deal it is at base MSRP of $26,000. And it’s not just cheap; it was also good enough to win Electrek’s Vehicle of the Year award in this last year of its existence.
But now, moving on to Ultium, things are getting a little more interesting.
GM has struggled with Ultium since the beginning, and the ramp has been slower than many would expect. Ultium-based vehicles have had pretty low sales, though it looks like that’s changing this quarter.
Last quarter, GM delivered just 47 units of the Hummer EV, its first Ultium-based vehicle. Deliveries began way back in late 2021, and sales have been slow. Its best quarters so far were 411 units in Q3 2022 and 272 in Q2 2022, but other than that, it has never sold triple-digits in a single quarter.
This probably has something to do with the truck being entirely excessive, but it also indicates that GM has perhaps had trouble getting Ultium off the ground.
But that seems to have changed this quarter, as GM delivered 1,167 Hummers in Q3, nearly tripling its previous best from last year.
Cadillac Lyriq, the second Ultium-based EV, also saw a record quarter: 3,108 Lyriqs were delivered in Q3, more than double Q2’s previous 1,348 record.
Both of these are expensive vehicles, so they’re expected to have lower sales. But this progress is still large and suggests that GM might have turned a corner on production.
This is important news since GM’s mass market Ultium-based EVs are set to be released imminently. In fact, a few deliveries were already accounted for in the company’s Q3 results.
Apparently, 19 Blazer EVs and 18 Silverado EVs were delivered in Q3. This is the first time we’ve seen either of these vehicles show up in quarterly numbers and suggests that customers should be getting cars soon. GM says it recently began customer deliveries of the Blazer and has delivered a few Silverados to fleet customers.
Chevy recently opened order requests for the Blazer EV, so we hope to see the floodgates open and big numbers to show up. The fact that Lyriq and Hummer sales have increased so much over the course of one quarter gives us hope that this might be possible.
Finally, rounding out the total 20,092 EVs that GM delivered in Q3 are 35 Zevo 600 vans from GM’s electric last-mile delivery arm, BrightDrop.
That 20,092 number is up 28% from Q2, but still small compared to GM’s overall total of 674,336 vehicles delivered, including gas vehicles. That’s just under 3% of GM’s sales that are all-electric, which even means GM is underperforming compared to the national average of around 6-7% EV sales.
It’s also barely ahead of Rivian, a startup without over 100 years of production experience like GM has, which just announced 15,654 EV deliveries, beating estimates.
GM has claimed for years that it is “all-in” on EVs and that it would have 20 new EVs by 2023. So it’s going to take several more quarters of doubling or tripling EV production, while also reducing the production of vehicles that will continue to spew toxic waste into your lungs for the whole next decade or more of their use, if GM wants to deliver on this promise of being “all-in.”
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Yet another big name in auto is pulling back on its EV plans, blaming slower than expected demand for electric vehicles.
Porsche drops in-house EV battery plans
Volkswagen’s luxury sports car brand, Porsche, announced this week that it no longer plans to build EV batteries in-house.
Cellforce, Porsche’s high-performance EV battery company, will shrink and only focus on research and development, rather than production.
In a statement, Porsche blamed “the slower ramp-up” of EVs and “challenging market conditions” in its biggest markets, the US and China, for the changes.
CEO Oliver Blume, confirmed the news, saying “For volume reasons and a lack of economies of scale, Porsche is no longer pursuing its own production of battery cells.” The staff reductions, will be handled in “a socially responsible matter,” Porsche said. Volkswagen’s battery unit, PowerCo, will take on several former employees.
Porsche plans to continue to continue offering internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid, and all-electric options across every segment “well into the 2030s.”
Following the Taycan and Macan Electric, Porsche is still planning to launch the all-electric Cayenne and 718 models. The German automaker promises future models will still “bring trend-setting technologies in electromobility into series production.”
A separate report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche claimed on Wednesday that Porsche is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume.
German automaker Opel drops EV commitment plans
Porsche isn’t the only German automaker adjusting EV plans. Opel is one of the many brands under the Stellantis Group, alongside Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, and several others.
Although it was one of the many automakers to commit to offering an all-electric lineup, it’s now backing off its promise.
During Stellantis’ EV Day in 2021, Opel announced its intention to transition to all-electric vehicles by 2028, accompanied by a slate of new models. Former CEO Michael Lohscheller, now chief executive at Polestar, said, “As of 2028, Opel will only offer electric cars in our core market Europe.”
On Monday, the German auto giant abandoned its plans for an all-EV lineup, saying it will continue to focus on its current “multi-energy” strategy.
Opel is the first German auto brand to offer a fully electrified model for every vehicle in its lineup, including electric (EVs), plug-in (PHEVs), and even internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
In response to media reports claiming it has changed its strategy, the company said in a statement, “This does not have to be limited to 2028 if the demand side requires otherwise.”
Although the company will continue to focus on EVs in specific regions, like the UK, France, and Germany, it will also offer other powertrain options based on demand.
Opel, alongside British sister company Vauxhall, is one of the top-selling brands in Europe. In Germany and the UK, Opel and Vauxhall ranked first in the ever-expanding B-hatch segment through the first half of the year.
The German auto giant becomes the latest brand to scale back EV plans or shift to hybrids, following Volvo, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and others.
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As it gears up to unleash an “avalanche” of new EVs, a top Kia official is warning against changing policies. Not only would it be a setback for the industry, but it would also cost the company a fortune.
Kia is warning against changing policies for EVs
Unlike some automakers (looking at you, Mercedes-Benz), Kia believes it’s best for Europe to stick to its plan to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.
“We have an avalanche of electric cars coming,” Kia’s top executive in Europe, Marc Hedrich, said (via Automotive News). Kia’s European boss warned that if the company were to suddenly stop launching EVs, “it would cost us a Fortune.”
Hedrich’s comments come as pressure builds from other automakers, especially in Germany, to reverse the ban on new ICE cars.
Meanwhile, just a week ago, Kia’s first European-made electric vehicle, the EV4, rolled off the assembly line. The EV4 is Kia’s first electric hatchback. Unlike the sedan model, which is made in South Korea, the hatch variant is assembled at Kia’s Zilina plant in Slovakia.
Kia invested over 100 million euros ($125 million) to upgrade the facility for EV production. Next year, Kia will begin building the EV2, its new entry-level electric car that will sit below the EV3.
Hedrich’s warning is a stark contrast to Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, who criticized the EU’s policy earlier this month.
Kallenius said that the policy would handicap European brands, which are already struggling to compete with Chinese automakers. Instead, he is calling for tax incentives and cheaper power prices to support the transition to EVs.
When asked about Kallenius’ comments, Hedrich took a slight jap, saying, “That is the same guy who a few years ago promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030.”
EU President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with several top European automotive executives to devise a plan to ensure the sector remains competitive.
Kia does not support a delay, Hedrich made clear, with several EVs set to arrive over the next few months. After launching the EV3 and EV9 in 2024, Kia opened orders for the EV4 (hatchback and sedan variants) earlier this year. The company’s EV5 SUV is set to launch later this year, followed by the smaller EV2. Both the EV2 and EV4 will be assembled in Slovakia to expedite deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
The EV3 is already the best-selling electric vehicle among retail buyers in the UK and sixth in Europe through the first half of the year.
With the EV4 and EV5 joining the lineup this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, why would Kia support going backwards? And that’s not to mention Kia’s new PBV electric van business, which kicked off with the PV5 this year.
Even investing in new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) technology at this point seems a little late to the party.
As Hedrich put it, “PHEVs are definitely a transition technology which is highly dependent on local government rules.” Since the rules vary by region, “it’s extremely difficult to build a business case” around them, he added.
Kia’s European boss believes the EU’s ban on ICE vehicles could help German automakers. However, more competitive models are needed to boost demand, he predicted.
Do you agree with Kia? Chinese brands like BYD are quickly winning over market share with lower-cost, often more advanced EVs. And European automakers are almost entirely dependent on Korean or Chinese battery makers. If automakers continue delaying the inevitable transition to EVs, they will only fall further behind in the global market.
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Environment
Tesla self-driving is still not working in Vegas’s single lane tunnels, but Elon says 50% of US this year
Tesla has reportedly begun testing self-driving features in the Boring Company’s single-lane tunnels in Las Vegas, but it is still “ways off,” according to the Las Vegas Convention Center, which owns the tunnels.
Yet, Elon Musk believes Tesla’s self-driving will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
The Boring Company, a startup founded by Elon Musk, aims to construct single-lane tunnels beneath cities in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.
In 2021, it began operating its first Loop, ~1.7 miles (2.7 km) of tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), with Tesla vehicles ferrying passengers between three stations around the convention center.
LVCC was the first to trust the Boring Company to deploy its ‘Loop’ and the service has been underwhelming so far, but The Boring Company did expand the network a bit in Las Vegas, connecting the LVCC Loop to a few hotels with new tunnels.
Elon Musk stated that the ultimate goal was for self-driving Tesla vehicles to transport people through these tunnels at high speeds.
Many people noted that a controlled environment with single-lane tunnels, devoid of other vehicles or pedestrians, would be the easiest environment to deploy self-driving technology. However, four years after launching the LVCC Loop, The Boring Company is still using Tesla vehicles with human chauffeurs.
Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), confirmed to Fortune that The Boring Company started testing Tesla’s autonomous driving in the Vegas Loop, but he believes it is still “ways off”.
He shared some details about the testing so far:
Thus far, all of the initial testing has been done with the standard Full Self-Driving (FSD) software that consumers can get in their personal Tesla vehicles, and with a Boring Company safety operator in the driver’s seat, according to Hill, who awarded the Boring Company its first transportation contract and who has overseen all of Boring’s initial construction and tunneling in the broader County thus far. Hill said that Boring Company is operating the vehicles, but was unsure of Tesla’s exact role in the testing apart from furnishing the vehicles and the self-driving software. There have been no scrapes or accidents thus far, though safety drivers have “periodically” had to intervene and take control of the vehicles, Hill said.
Nonetheless, Hill believes that the loop will eventually become autonomous, but he is unsure when this will happen.
While they are still working on making self-driving work in those single-lane tunnels, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s Robotaxi service will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
As I previously stated, there’s no way that Tesla could cover half of the US population with an actual Robotaxi service by the end of the year.
But the fact that it doesn’t actually operate any real Robotaxi service changes things.
In the Bay Area, Tesla claims to have launched its “Robotaxi”, but it is essentially using its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature with Tesla employees supervising the vehicles from the driver’s seat.
This is basically the same thing as an Uber driver who has a Tesla with FSD.
Therefore, technically, Tesla could cover half of the US population by recruiting a few drivers in all 40 biggest metro markets in the US to drive around in Tesla vehicles with FSD and claim that its “Robotaxi” covers half of the US population.
It would be a ridiculous thing to do and only celebrated by the most cultish of Tesla fans, but at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked.
My personal opinion is that the right thing to do is to deliver on what you promised: unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles built since 2016 and the promises made to other customers, such as the Las Vegas Convention Center.
If your self-driving technology is not working in a single-lane tunnel without other road users, it will not work on surface streets.
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