GM plans to go mostly electric by 2035, be carbon neutral by 2040

Automaker General Motors has set a goal of making the vast majority of the vehicles it produces electric by 2035, and the entire company – including operations – carbon neutral by 2040.

GM has already announced that it will invest US$27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years, a 35 per cent increase over plans made before the pandemic. It will offer 30 all-electric models worldwide by the middle of the decade. By the end of 2025, 40 per cent of its U.S. models will be battery electric vehicles. The company plans to include crossovers, SUVs, sedans and trucks in its electric vehicle lineup.

In a Jan. 28 news release, GM said that it will source 100 per cent renewable energy to power its U.S. sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035, which is five years faster than its previously announced global goal.

And it has a goal of making all new light-duty vehicles, the vast majority of its fleet, fully electric within 14 years. The company will concentrate on offering zero-emissions vehicles in different prices ranges. It’s also working with others, including the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF), to build out the necessary infrastructure to power its electric vehicles and to promote their use.

GM said its focus will be offering zero-emissions vehicles across a range of price points and working with all stakeholders, including EDF, to build out the necessary charging infrastructure and promote consumer acceptance while maintaining jobs.

The 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.

“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 EDF president Fred Krupp. “EDF and GM have had some important differences in the past, but this is a new day in America — one where serious collaboration to achieve transportation electrification, science-based climate progress and equitably shared economic opportunity can move our nation forward.”