General Motors (GM) is looking to build more affordable electric vehicles (EVs), and the company’s chief executive thinks it could surpass Tesla’s sales in the U.S. in just a few short years.
GM CEO Mary Barra said that the automaker will sell more EVs than Tesla by the middle of the decade in an interview with AP News this week.
Barra also emphasized her confidence that GM will beat Tesla and Elon Musk to long-range, affordable EVs.
The news comes amidst skyrocketing inflation, rising interest rates and soaring costs for materials — all while semiconductor chips are still pumping the brakes on GM’s EV assembly lines.
GM, Pilot Company to Build National EV Charging Network with EVgo https://t.co/IWbYgwoatj
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 14, 2022
In a statement, Barra said, “To really get to 30, 40, 50% EVs being sold, you have to appeal to people that are in that $30,000 to $35,000 price range.” Barra continued, “If the only vehicle you own is going to be an EV, you have to feel confident of charging.”
In 2021, GM sold 25,000 EVs in the U.S., representing less than a tenth of the roughly 352,000 sold by Tesla in the same year. EVs also still make up just 5 percent of the U.S. vehicle market, with Tesla dominating sales.
“What we have coming, it’s in the heart of the market,” teased Barra, without elaborating. She did mention GM expects parts and chip shortages to last into 2023.
Regardless, GM says it plans to cut the Chevy Bolt price to just $26,000 later this year, and the automaker plans to debut the 300-mile Equinox electric SUV for roughly $30,000.
Earlier this year, the White House held a meeting with automakers to acknowledge the future of EVs in America, but failed to invite Tesla. President Joe Biden touted the domestic EV revolution was “Mary led”, despite Tesla building more EVs than any other company in the U.S. The snub resulted in backlash online and even a Change.org petition urging the White House to recognize Tesla.
Eventually, the White House did mention Tesla one month later for its “extraordinary things” for EVs.
