General Motors said it will boost spending on electric and autonomous vehicles by 30% come 2025, as the company reports better than expected profits in the first half of the year.
On Wednesday, GM announced it will up spending towards its electric and autonomous fleet to $35 billion, marking an increase of 30% from its previous spending plans announced in late 2020. The additional funds will be allocated towards accelerating the automaker’s battery and fuel cell production, as well as expand its current rollout of electric vehicles. Previously, GM had said it will introduce 30 new EVs to the car market by 2025, and with respect to the latest spending boost, the car maker said it will now add to those plans.
“There are several growth engines in General Motors, and we’re going to just keep pushing ahead and accelerating them like we’re doing today of announcing a faster pivot to EVs,” explained GM CEO Mary Barra to CNBC. Indeed, GM has been in a hurry to catch up to EV market leader Tesla, in a broader effort to compete with other major automakers including Volkswagen.
GM said that the latest EV spending increase was the result of historically-high pretax earnings over the past three quarters, as well as strengthening demand for its new EVs. Despite the ongoing global chip shortage, GM forecasts better-than-expected pretax earnings between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion in the first half of 2021, up from a previous estimate of $5.5 billion.
Information for this briefing was found via GM and CNBC. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
