General Motors plans to achieve carbon neutrality for its global products and operations by 2040, and aspires to eliminate tailpipe emissions from all new light-duty vehicles produced by 2035.
GM’s focus will be offering zero-emissions vehicles across a range of price points and working with all stakeholders to build out the necessary charging infrastructure and promote acceptance while maintaining high quality jobs, which will all be needed to meet these ambitious goals, the automaker said. In the coming years, GM plans to offer an EV for every customer, from crossovers and SUVs to trucks and sedans.
“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.”
In addition to this, General Motors recently revealed a new electric delivery vehicle, the EV600, that will feature an estimated 250 miles of range along with the announcement of its BrightDrop business unit, which is designed to offer a new ecosystem of electric first-to-last-mile products, software, and services for delivery and logistics companies.
GM is also collaborating with Navistar to introduce a hydrogen fuel-cell semi truck for customer implementation through a new zero-emission long-haul system.
To reach its goals, GM plans to decarbonize its portfolio by transitioning to battery-electric vehicles or other zero-emissions vehicle technology, sourcing renewable energy and leveraging minimal offsets or credits, and has committed to setting targets to achieving carbon neutrality.
The company also said it worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a shared vision of an all-electric future, the automaker said.
“With this extraordinary step forward, GM is making it crystal clear that taking action to eliminate pollution from all new light-duty vehicles by 2035 is an essential element of any automaker’s business plan," said Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp.
GM will offer 30 all-electric models globally by mid-decade and 40% of the company’s U.S. models offered will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025, the automaker said. The company also said it is investing $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years.
This investment includes the continued development of GM’s Ultium battery technology, 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.
More than half of GM’s capital spending and product development team will be devoted to electric and electric-autonomous vehicle programs.
The company will also continue to increase fuel efficiency of its traditional internal combustion vehicles in accordance with regional fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations, according to the automaker. Some of these initiatives include fuel economy improvement technologies, such as Stop/Start, aerodynamic efficiency enhancements, downsized boosted engines, more efficient transmissions and other vehicle improvements, including mass reduction and lower rolling resistance tires.
To address emissions from its own operations, GM will source 100% renewable energy to power its U.S. sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035, which represents a five-year acceleration of the company’s previously announced global goal.
In addition to the council’s work, GM is collaborating with suppliers to set ambitious targets for the supply chain to reduce emissions, increase transparency and source more sustainable materials.
