GM to go all EV by 2035

[DarinCT]

This is a bold declaration. I wonder how Ford will respond as we've already heard from Toyota and VW.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35352321/gm-eliminate-gas-vehicles-2035/

• GM CEO Mary Barra announced a bold plan to phase out gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035.
• The plan is part of a larger strategy to make the company carbon neutral by 2040.
• GM’s plan aligns the automaker with regulations being put in place by states like California.

 

[Crissa]

The question is, how well will they survive losing that much of their market?

-Crissa

 

[Quicksilver]

They prob should have ran that by the shareholders first. It sounds like a good way to commit business suicide. Sounds to me like they are giving in to "greenmail" to appease those who want to force everyone to adapt to their idea of how the world should work.
I love EV technology and am waiting eagerly for my CT.
That being said ICE vehicles are going to be around for a lot longer than the rabid environmentalists want to believe. Some machines just can't be made to run on batteries. Until I see a CAT D9 bulldozer or a 40,000 pound Link Belt excavator running on batteries for twelve hours a day without charging I won't be convinced.
Let me give you an example of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions (and government regulations). I have a friend that farms hundreds of acres of land, mostly soybeans and corn. He spent over one million dollars on new John Deere tractors, combines and other diesel powered equipment over the last two years. All of the new diesel powered farm equipment is electronically controlled and have the DEF pollution systems on it mandated by the EPA. This is the rogue Federal agency that took the most reliable engine ever built and made a technical nightmare out of it. The software that keeps the equipment running is proprietary meaning only a dealer technician can work on it. And it breaks down constantly requiring a technician to come to the worksite and reset or repair it. It got so bad that he and some fellow farmers threated the dealership he bought it from with a class action lawsuit. They finally assigned a technician that would drop whatever he was doing and go out immediately and get the machines up and running when they frequently broke down.
This government bullying results in lost productivity for everybody that has been forced to use these new machines. This is not limited to farm equipment, Class 8 trucks are beset with electronic issues that leave them limping down the road or stuck in truckstops when they malfunction. Caterpillar quit making engines for Class 8 trucks because of this stupidity. I'm sure the people that worked in those engine plants appreciated doing their part to save the world when they lost their jobs.
I didn't line up to buy an EV to save the planet........Earth will be here long after humans disappear.
In my opinion Global Warming is the biggest hoax (and wealth redistribution scheme) ever foisted on the human race.
People should not have to be bullied into accepting new technology if said technology makes sense. Make it practical and affordable (like Musk is doing) and people will accept and embrace it.

 

[FutureBoy]

Until I see a CAT D9 bulldozer or a 40,000 pound Link Belt excavator running on batteries for twelve hours a day without charging I won't be convinced.

Interesting that you wrote this just a few hours after this thread was posted:
Electric Construction Equipment News

Especially the part about the Liebherr LR 1250.1 crawler crane which is reported to:

• have a maximum lifting capacity of 250 metric tons
• no performance depreciation between them and their diesel cousins
• capable of putting in a full day’s work on one charge

 

[Crissa]

The point of this isn't greenwashing: It's investing in the future.

This is exactly what a government is for.

The vast majority of government vehicles are fleet, do set number of miles in a day, and so would be perfect for replacement with electrification. Few even need DC fast charging. Many are sedans... A segment that's been pretty dominated by Tesla, for instance. Many are light trucks, which will be the first trucks replaced by electrics. This is perfect timing. Ten years ago, all solutions would have had to be custom. Today there are off-the-shelf solutions which would replace much of them.

In ten years, there will even more solutions. There are hybrid trucks now, filling in the spaces where batteries don't go yet. So finding an EV solution won't be so hard. And used vehicles will exist.

As for Ford, well... Their ramp-up seems slow. I don't know if they'll make it.

-Crissa

 

[azjohn]

The point of this isn't greenwashing: It's investing in the future.

This is exactly what a government is for.

The vast majority of government vehicles are fleet, do set number of miles in a day, and so would be perfect for replacement with electrification. Few even need DC fast charging. Many are sedans... A segment that's been pretty dominated by Tesla, for instance. Many are light trucks, which will be the first trucks replaced by electrics. This is perfect timing. Ten years ago, all solutions would have had to be custom. Today there are off-the-shelf solutions which would replace much of them.

In ten years, there will even more solutions. There are hybrid trucks now, filling in the spaces where batteries don't go yet. So finding an EV solution won't be so hard. And used vehicles will exist.

As for Ford, well... Their ramp-up seems slow. I don't know if they'll make it.

-Crissa

Biden has said recently his plan is to replace all 650K government vehicles with BEV, my only concern will be military vehicles that need to be mobile and be no where near a charging access,

The very low maintenance with BEVs would be beneficial

 

[Crissa]

my only concern will be military vehicles that need to be mobile and be no where near a charging access,

None of the vehicles in the order are military, so no worries.

Tho EVs are pretty awesome for that: They're quiet, have low emissions, and can charge from anything, even 'the sun'. That's why they bought Zeros.

-Crissa

 

[Diehard]

Make it practical and affordable (like Musk is doing) and people will accept and embrace it.

Tesla made a lot of money out of selling Environmental credits and government tax credits helped Tesla get off the ground. People accept and embrace Tesla because Elon hires competent engineers and scientist. If John Deere did the same you would not be complaining about government regulations. I am a bit sick of people that on their day to day lives are beneficiary of government regulations, try to cripple it with lack of resources, replace the devoted public servants with self serving morons and then complain why it is not performing well.

 

[Diehard]

This is a bold declaration. I wonder how Ford will respond as we've already heard from Toyota and VW.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35352321/gm-eliminate-gas-vehicles-2035/

• GM CEO Mary Barra announced a bold plan to phase out gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035.
• The plan is part of a larger strategy to make the company carbon neutral by 2040.
• GM’s plan aligns the automaker with regulations being put in place by states like California.

Pressure is on. with Europe going all in, Chinese expected to take over 50% of EV market, GM does not have much of a choice. I don’t think Battery Tech is quite where it needs to be for that kinda commitment but everyone going electric will push the R&D to that point faster. It looks like Electricity will be getting more expensive and gas will stay cheap, Time to go ICE shopping

 

[azjohn]

GM probably thinks by 2035 EVs will be common place and now trying to get some positive PR. Of all of the car companies I have the least amount of confidence. It is possible the up start EV companies will be the car companies of the future and the others will go out of business. It will cost Billions to transfer the factories and something nobody really talks about are the stock holders and keeping them happy at the same time

 

[DarinCT]

They prob should have ran that by the shareholders first. It sounds like a good way to commit business suicide. Sounds to me like they are giving in to "greenmail" to appease those who want to force everyone to adapt to their idea of how the world should work.

GM has had a PE ratio generally speaking between 0 and 20, mostly around 8 to 10 **for the last 10 years**. When Tesla has a P/E of absurd proportions, Amazon/UPS/USPS look to a startup for commercial bids, and even China(!) is going EV, there's no need to check in with shareholders.

Additionally, the government seems poised to hand out cash and other incentives for the transition. Staying put is the same as saying, "Thanks but no thanks for the assistance in the transition, we're okay with being the laggards." I agree that ICE will be around a long time but if GM doesn't move now, they'll be left in the dust.

 

[Diehard]

GM probably thinks by 2035 EVs will be common place and now trying to get some positive PR. Of all of the car companies I have the least amount of confidence. It is possible the up start EV companies will be the car companies of the future and the others will go out of business. It will cost Billions to transfer the factories and something nobody really talks about are the stock holders and keeping them happy at the same time

Only the one’s willing to deal with short term pains will survive to see the long term gains. And CEO’s that make those brave decisions, may get fired before they can get credit for the results. Elon is right; too many MBEs. They are probably the reason GM half assed it with EV1 otherwise it would be way ahead of Tesla today.

 

[FutureBoy]

Only the one’s willing to deal with short term pains will survive to see the long term gains. And CEO’s that make those brave decisions, may get fired before they can get credit for the results. Elon is right; too many MBEs. They are probably the reason GM half assed it with EV1 otherwise it would be way ahead of Tesla today.

I wonder where we really would be if the EV1 had been invested in seriously. So much has changed since then. I don't really see GM being able to push EVs the way Tesla has with such dedication and single-minded purpose. And without such a clear goal in mind, I doubt if the rest of the industry would have taken much notice and followed in similar efforts. So what would have happened? My guess is that the EV1 would have evolved slowly through the EV2, 3, etc slowly improving. The rest of the world would be watching GMs efforts and measuring the state of the art by the progress of their program. For the first few iterations it might have been news making but in time even the news would stop bothering. And everyone would look away from EV tech because it would be clear that it just wasn't good enough to really change the world. Perhaps even Elon would have dismissed EV tech and not been inspired to create Tesla. Who knows.

But instead, battery technology developed in a completely unrelated path to laptop computers. Instead of optimizing batteries for vehicle use, the leading edge of battery technology developed to run our laptops. Without the further development of the EV1 Elon was then free to boggle everyone's mind by hijacking the laptop battery tech and creating an inspired cutting-edge sports car. And even with such inspiration, Tesla still almost didn't make it.

In hindsight, I'm actually glad the EV1 was mothballed. I doubt the Tesla CT would have ever come to fruition if the state of the art had been dictated by what GM was doing with the EV1 program. We would have eventually had EV pickups. But nothing like the CT.

 

[Akgolf]

I’ll believe it when I see it.

GM seems to change plans depending on who’s in office.

 

[CyberOwl]

That's curious because starting in 2030 GM will not be able to sell any ICE vehicles, no one will want their antiquated expensive technology. They won't be all electric until 2035, which leaves five years of taxpayer bailouts, all so we can protect the jobs of idiots making inferior products. Too little too late, fuck GM!