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General Motors wants to be electric in the future, for example with the Cadillac Lyriq
Photo: Cadillac
Hardly any other car company represents the classic car world like General Motors (GM).
Tail-fin-crowned road cruisers, the US sports car icon Corvette, robust pick-ups and the Hummer over-terrain vehicle - General Motors is, so to speak, the symbol of the old car world.
Company boss Mary Barra now wants to change that.
From 2035, your company will only sell locally emission-free cars; by 2040, the group is to become CO₂-neutral.
GM will "join governments and companies around the globe and work towards a safer, greener and better world."
Big words from a woman who, at the beginning of the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, had worked towards looser emissions standards.
But still an extraordinary signal to the competition, as car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg explains: "Up until now, none of the conventional car manufacturers has dared to take such a consistent step," says Dudenhöffer.
While most men in the industry only pay lip service, GM boss Mary Barra is leading the way.
"The men on the executive boards apparently don't dare to take the step of parting with the old," Dudenhöffer criticizes the board members of the other companies.
It is sad for the German manufacturers that the supposedly old-fashioned GM group of all people is the first to make such an announcement and not an essentially innovative manufacturer like BMW.
The era of the combustion engine is coming to an end
According to Dudenhöffer, VW has taken a big step with its electrical plans, but GM is now one hundred percent into the future.
For the auto expert, that's only logical.
"The internal combustion engine no longer has a future in passenger cars, and synthetic fuels will not change that," predicts Dudenhöffer.
However, despite the massive announcement, General Motors did not outrun the competition at the drive turnaround, says Peter Fintl from the technology consultancy Altran.
Many manufacturers are on a similar level to the auto giant from Detroit, but do not announce the decisive step.
»VW wants to be completely CO2-neutral by 2050, which implies the end of the combustion engine.
Porsche actually wants to become an electric brand within ten years, ”says Fintl.
At the same time, Daimler is separating from engine production and GM's arch-rival Ford also has a good electric strategy.
He therefore does not consider the move to be revolutionary - but an important cut in the public perception of the industry.
Detroit saw the signs of the times
GM is apparently in tune with the times with its combustion farewell to installments.
Many governments already have fixed exit scenarios from gasoline and diesel engines, Norway the year 2025, France on the other hand 2040. General Motors is reasonably in the middle with the year 2035, explains Fintl.
In addition, the number of registrations for battery vehicles soared in Germany in 2020, and in Norway even more electric cars were registered than combustion engines.
"The combustion engine rides into the dusk," explains technology consultant Fintl.
"Manufacturers now have to extend their elbows with electric drives and get themselves into a good position." GM recognized the signs of the times - "and was rewarded with a rising share price," says Fintl.
On the day of the decision, GM papers were more than three percent more expensive.
The announcement by the US group also affects suppliers and possible bridging technologies such as CO2-neutral, synthetic fuels that could enable the internal combustion engine to have a climate-neutral future.
GM's decision underlines that synthetic fuels have no sustainable future in the mass market, says Fintl.
Andreas Radics from the Berylls strategy consultancy also sees the company's decision as a major disadvantage for e-fuels.
According to Radics, the USA in particular was an important potential market for such fuel.
Wallet vulnerability
However, there are also gaps in the Group's plan.
GM leaves a loophole open for internal combustion engines in pick-ups over 3.5 tons, explains Fintl.
And despite the withdrawal from many markets, the group still operates globally.
For strategy consultant Radics it is therefore not only questionable how the group can finance its ambitious plan.
GM is active in many markets in which combustion engines will play an important role beyond 2035, for example in South America.
For them the question arises whether GM will have to give up these markets - or how consistently the company will implement the plan.
"The ramp-up of production will also be a challenge," says Radics.
The group has an advantage over VW with the current construction of the huge battery factory in Ohio - "but the learning curve in production remains a problem, as the initial difficulties of the e-models at VW have shown," warns Radics.
Bottleneck charging infrastructure
Technology consultant Fintl sees GM well prepared.
With the Ultium platform, the manufacturer has a very good electrical construction kit that is designed for the highest quantities.
With the electric Hummer, the Group's first hope will soon hit the market.
“GM has recognized the bottlenecks in electric car production and has a well-planned strategy,” says Fintl.
Both management consultants agree that the biggest challenge for the group will be the charging infrastructure.
The sheer size of the USA - combined with the sometimes low population density - make building a nationwide electricity tank network a problem by 2035, plus a partly outdated electricity network.
But it is precisely in this area that company boss Barra's political instinct, as in 2016, could be worthwhile.
Because the state has to invest here, explains Fintl - and GM is now giving the already open-minded Biden government an excellent reason to do so.
General Motors, summarizes the consultant, "has the best conditions for a home run".
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