GM CEO confirms plans to build Chevy or GMC electric pickup truck

2019 GMC SierraGeneral Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed Tuesday in a call with investors what rumors had long predicted: The automaker will build an electric pickup. Barra didn't specify when the pickup would appear, or whether it would be branded as a GMC or Chevrolet. Rumors swirled earlier this year that GM may invest in EV startup Rivian, but that never...

EV tax credit extension gets bipartisan juice in Senate

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long-Range RWDDespite President Trump's efforts to torpedo electric-car tax credits, extending them has become a bipartisan effort in the Senate. In the face of the tax credits winding down first for automakers who've sold hundreds of thousands of electric cars, several Democrats and Republicans proposed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would extend tax credits...

Chevrolet Bolt EV to get electric sibling, with Michigan plant investment

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-productionGeneral Motors announced on Friday that it will build a second electric car for Chevrolet, alongside the Chevy Bolt EV. The new model is widely expected to be a somewhat larger crossover SUV, though GM would not confirm that at this point. MUST READ: Long-range Cadillac SUV to lead GM's next electric-car push, in 3 years It will share the Bolt's...

GM launches Arīv electric bikes, but not for U.S.

ARĪV eBike from General MotorsBack in November, General Motors held a naming contest for a new electric vehicle—not a car, but a foldable electric bicycle. Now the company has announced the name, and says the bike will go on sale in Europe later this spring. Known as the Arīv Meld and the Arīv Merge, the bikes have a range of up to almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) on a...

GM electric vehicles could be profitable early next decade, says CEO

Cadillac electric crossover SUV based on GM BEV3 modular platformIncentives, credits, and compliance schemes can only get the electric vehicle market so far. The real test of its success will be when large, established automakers can get to a point when they can call them profitable. On Wednesday, on a call with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter 2018 financial results, GM CEO Mary Barra...

Barra blogs again: GM plans to double EV, self-driving investments

Future Cadillac long-range electric large luxury utility vehicle (rendering), 2019 Detroit auto shoFollowing a round of layoffs late last year, GM is planning to renew its focus on creating electric cars and autonomous vehicles. For the second time in four months, CEO Mary Barra took to LinkedIn to reiterate that the company is shifting its focus to electric cars. The first time preceded November's announcement that General Motors would lay off...

Opinion: Expiring tax credits hurt U.S. automakers, favor imports

Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structurePresident Trump campaigned on a promise to aid U.S. manufacturers and provide more incentives for them to produce products in the U.S. Now the President, seemingly in opposition to that stance, has launched into a war of words with two of America's largest automakers—its youngest and one of its oldest—over the tax credits that have...

GM to kill Chevy Volt production in 2019 (Updated)

2019 Chevrolet VoltGeneral Motors confirmed Monday morning that it plans to cease production of the Chevrolet Volt in March, as part of an effort to streamline production and pivot its business more toward zero-emissions and personal-mobility efforts. The Volt was the first production plug-in car sold in the U.S. when it went on sale in 2010, but has struggled with...

GM creates a global e-bike, looks for branding help with contest

GM compact e-bikeGeneral Motors is already shaping up to be second only to Tesla in blasting past the 200,000-vehicle ceiling for the federal EV tax credit; and it has plans to produce 20 new fully electric vehicles by 2023. Part of that EV-savvy strategy, apparently—or a parallel one, perhaps—involves e-bikes intended for “consumers around the...

GM’s national electric car plan may not be all that, scientist argues

Image from 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric-car ad by Ourisman Chevrolet, Rockville, MarylandJust as General Motors prepared to release record profits on Wednesday, the respected Union of Concerned Scientists took issue with the company's plan last week to develop a plan to require electric car sales nationwide. GM is a leader in electric cars and is expected to be the second automaker to reach the 200,000-vehicle limit on tax credits for...