General Motors plans to phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines completely by 2035, Mary Barra, chairman and CEO, announced Thursday. By 2035, the carmaker will be completely carbon neutral at all facilities worldwide.
Barra has regularly highlighted GM’s plan for an ‘electric future’, which recently increased the number of pure battery electric vehicles to 30 by the middle of this decade, but this is the first time that the largest Detroit automaker has a ‘n’ a hard target for phasing out gas and diesel engines for all light vehicles, including pickups and sport utility vehicles.
GM is also working on clean technology for heavy trucks. GM announced on Wednesday that it will supply fuel cell technology for Navistar International Corp. He is looking for other applications of the hydrogen technology he is developing as part of a joint venture with Honda.
“General Motors is joining governments and companies around the world to establish a safer, greener and better world,” Barra said in a statement. “We encourage others to follow their example and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”
The automotive industry is shifting from internal combustion technology to emission-free battery and hydrogen power stations. Several traditional brands have also committed themselves to a complete transition, with Bentley recently setting a target date of 2030 to fully switch to battery-powered electric vehicles, or BEVs. Nissan said this week it would electrify all models by the “early 2030s”, but that would include gas-electric hybrids as well as BEVs.
In the quest to become electric, GM hopes to tackle Tesla and suburbs, including Rivian, Bollinger and Lordstown Motors.
GM introduced its first long-range battery-powered electric model, the Chevrolet Bolt EV, in 2016 and is preparing an aggressive run-up with the elongated Chevy Bolt EV and GMC Hummer pickup later this year. By the middle of the decade, all US and foreign brands, including those in China, will have BEVs in showrooms.
“We feel it will be the successful business model of the future,” Dane Parker, GM’s environmental chief, told a virtual conference on Thursday. “We feel we will be able to overcome obstacles and thrive in the future.”
GM aims to improve EV economy with the upcoming launch of its new Ultium batteries as part of a joint venture with South Korean LG Chem. The batteries for the Chevrolet Bolt EV currently cost about $ 145 per kilowatt-hour. The short-term target for batteries coming from a new plant in Ohio is $ 100 per kWh and eventually $ 70. According to the figure, it would save more than $ 4,000 per vehicle by using a 65 kWh package like the Bolt use.
GM was one of the first automakers to enter the EV market, reversing the course of its earlier decision to support the Trump administration to deprive California of its ability to set emission standards stricter than the federal mandate.
GM also plans to use renewable energy for its US plants by 2035 and abroad by 2040. According to Parker, where he cannot use solar or wind power, GM will look at other options, such as generating hydrogen or carbon capture.
GM is “excited about the things the new Biden government is doing,” Parker said Thursday, referring to President Joe Biden’s plan to replace nearly 650,000 vehicles in the federal fleet with all-electric models. With a third of those operated by the US Postal Service, it could create a significant opportunity for the new BrightDrop subsidiary GM launched this month. One of the most important products is an electric van aimed at delivery services such as FedEx, UPS and possibly the USPS.