GM Plans Two Additional Electric Vehicles for U.S. Market --Update
October 02 2017 - 1:17PM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Colias
General Motors Co. plans to introduce two more electric vehicles
in the U.S. within 18 months and 20 globally within six years, the
latest auto maker to forge ahead on EV technology despite uncertain
consumer demand.
GM said it would use the underpinnings of the Chevrolet Bolt EV,
introduced in the U.S. late last year, to offer two more EVs in its
home market, declining to discuss details of the new models. The
company also said it has developed a next-generation battery system
that will allow for greater flexibility in EV sizes and body styles
in coming years.
Auto makers are ramping up electrification plans amid mounting
pressure from regulators across the globe to begin phasing out
fossil-fuel-based vehicles. China, France and other countries have
floated outright bans on gas or diesel cars in coming decades.
Mark Reuss, GM's product-development chief, said the auto maker
will continue to offer a range of alternatives for consumers,
including hybrid systems and gas and diesel engines during what it
expected to be a long transition to a predominantly electric
future.
"General Motors believes the future is all-electric," Mr. Reuss
told reporters Monday at GM's design center in suburban
Detroit.
Separately, Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it has formed a new
team to help direct the $4.5 billion the auto maker plans to spend
on electric-vehicle development over the next four years. The
Detroit-based group, named "Team Edison," will explore partnerships
with suppliers and other companies, the company said.
GM, the nation's largest auto maker, also said it would do more
to expand the availability of charging stations to help spur
consumer demand for EVs but didn't peg an investment amount or
disclose specific plans. A dearth of charging infrastructure is
seen as a major hurdle to broader acceptance of the technology.
Electric vehicles account for less than 1% of total U.S. sales
and are a sliver of the nearly 90 million sold globally. EV market
share is expected rise as more models hit the market with longer
ranges, better features and, eventually, lower prices. But analysts
predict it will take nearly a decade for the cost of EVs to drop
into the same ballpark as gas-powered cars.
While battery costs are falling, most auto makers are thought to
incur losses on their EV sales. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief
Executive Sergio Marchionne once publicly begged consumers not to
buy one of the company's EVs, because it lost $14,000 on each one.
Mr. Reuss said GM's future EVs "will be profitable."
Talk of battery cars dominated last month's Frankfurt Motor
Show, as executives from Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and other auto
makers announced major expansion plans for their EV portfolios in
coming years.
Still, analysts say battery costs, charging infrastructure and
battery capacity are deterrents to broader EV adoption. Despite the
uncertainty, GM and other traditional auto makers are vying for
leadership. They're also fending off a growing pack of startup
companies emboldened by the success of Tesla Inc. and the lower
barriers to entry for electric cars relative to vehicles powered by
internal-combustion engines.
China has been most aggressive in seeding an electric-car market
through regulations and financial incentives for auto makers and
consumers. In recent years it has emerged as the top market
globally for EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles, mostly low-price cars
from Chinese brands.
GM said its next-generation battery platform would be offered in
two different vehicle heights, which would allow it to build both
cars and larger vehicles, such as SUVs and vans. Most EVs sold
today are small cars. GM officials showed reporters fully built
prototypes of three electric vehicles, including an SUV, a wagon
and a podlike micro bus.
GM also reiterated its commitment to fuel cells, an expensive
technology that produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen.
Since 2013, the company has been working with Honda to develop
fuel-cell technology, though GM hasn't disclosed plans for specific
models or said whether it plans sales to the public. The U.S. Army
since last year has been testing a fuel-cell-powered Chevy
pickup.
GM has been a leader in electric cars, though commercial success
has proved elusive. It introduced what was considered the first
mass-produced EV in the modern era, the EV1, in 1996, only to
cancel it a few years later amid skimpy sales. The company broke
ground in late 2010 when it launched the Chevrolet Volt plug-in
hybrid, which remains on the market with a fervent customer base
despite falling short of original sales goals.
The Chevy Bolt is considered the first relatively affordable EV
that can go long distances -- about 240 miles -- on a single
charge. Still, GM has relatively modest sales goals for the car in
the U.S. and has yet to disclose plans to sell it in China.
Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 02, 2017 14:02 ET (18:02 GMT)
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