General Motors CEO Mary Barra recently talked during an interview on Fox Business. The discussion was primarily related to the disaster we're still seeing in the automotive industry related to supply chain issues, prices, and more.
It was motivating to hear Barra, once again, reiterate how confident she is with GM's future EV plans. The CEO has been insisting for some time now that GM will become the new world leader with EVs by 2025, overtaking Tesla's sales.
Barra has talked at length about GM's plans, and more specifically, how it plans to beat Tesla so quickly. The Detroit automaker has developed its own proprietary Ultium electric vehicle platform, which it's debuting in expensive, high-end electric cars, such as the Cadillac Lyriq.
As time moves forward, Barra says GM will begin to offer a growing lineup of especially affordable EVs. Tesla currently doesn't produce an EV that's as affordable as many of its rivals, and it continues to raise its prices.
With that said, 2025 isn't very far away, and GM still doesn't have a whole lot to show on the EV front. It has some very impressive and affordable options on the way, including the Equinox EV, but will these bargain EVs be here soon enough, and will people flock to buy them? That's yet to be seen. Barra said during the interview:
"We want to make sure that one of the things that's General Motors' strength right now is we have a full portfolio of vehicles from very affordable to very luxurious, from a Cadillac or high feature from a Sierra Denali."
As the interview went on, the host began to depart from the discussion about the supply chain to ask Barra some more pressing questions. The host referenced Barra's previous EV targets and asked if she can still say that GM will be No. 1 in EVs by 2025.
Rather than simply saying yes, or reiterating her previous comments about topping Tesla to take the lead, Barra sort of talked around the question. She answered, via Teslarati:
“We believe, absolutely, with the portfolio of electric vehicles that we have coming out with different, you know, forms — whether it’s a truck, whether it’s a small crossover, a large crossover — the strengths of our brands and our ability from a manufacturing perspective. We’ve said that by 2025, we’ll have a million units in North America alone."
Barra didn't say she thinks GM still has a chance to be number one by 2025, though she may certainly still believe it. It's a solid and optimistic goal that she should be proud of sharing, with every intent to do everything in her power to make it happen. Barra answered by restating that GM will have a million units in North America alone by 2025, which is very exciting, but not likely enough to be number one unless rivals close up shop.
