General Motors, the largest automaker in the United States, has announced plans to stop selling all gasoline or diesel-powered lightweight vehicles by 2040.
This means that GM will have to ramp up the production of its electric vehicles and give up on its high sales of internal combustion vehicles.
GM said it has set 2040 as its target to become carbon neutral in its global products and operations. The company has also signed the Business Ambition Pledge for 1.5⁰C, an urgent call to action from a global coalition of UN agencies, business and industry leaders. The aim is to keep climate global temperature rise to 1.5 degree centigrade above pre-industrial levels.
The auto company worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a shared vision of an all-electric future and to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. GM’s focus is to build the necessary charging infrastructure and promote consumer acceptance of electric vehicles.
“General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world,” said Mary Barra, GM Chairman and CEO. “We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”
California recently announced a ban on new gas-powered car sales by 2035 after the recent catastrophic wildfires in the state. President Biden has also said that the government will electrify all federally-owned vehicles.
“General Motors plans to be carbon neutral by 2040 — which means removing emissions from all our products, including every vehicle we produce, and all of our global operations in the next twenty years,” Barra wrote on LinkedIn.
General Motors, last year, revealed a slew of products related to its electric vehicle strategy and unveiled details about its Ultium battery platform.
The automaker said the battery will power “a family of five interchangeable drive units and three motors” collectively known as “Ultium Drive,” which will aid GM in its transition to an “all-electric future.” General Motors intends to create a vertically integrated electric vehicle company similar to Tesla. GM said the new electric systems would be utilized in anything from sturdy pickup trucks to performance vehicles.
Ultium Drive will reduce costs and consolidation of parts and features will make it easier to scale up Ultium for future iterations of GM vehicles. GM has reduced almost 80 percent of wiring in the EV architecture. This will drive the battery cell cost below the $100/kWh level.
The company has a digital nerve system that allows it to update over the airwaves similar to what is done with mobiles and other devices.
GM will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade and 40 percent of the company’s U.S. models offered will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025.
GM has committed to spending nearly $20 billion on an “all-electric future”. It intends to spend $2.2 billion on building a full dedicated electric vehicle factory. It is updating facilities such as Factory ZERO in Michigan and Spring Hill Manufacturing in Tennessee to build electric vehicles from globally sourced parts and investing in new sites like Ultium Cells LLC in Ohio as well as manufacturing and STEM jobs.
