While Chinese car companies have been the subject of most of the attention for their global expansion plans, one of America’s oldest automakers has similar ambitions.
General Motors is focused on continuing to expand its brand presence and market share, domestically and internationally, using its diversified product portfolio and new Formula One team to attract potential new car buyers.
That hasn’t come without the need to pivot on major strategy decisions as predicted consumer behaviors regarding electric vehicle adoption did not come to fruition. Despite that, GM president Mark Reuss believes that the company is well positioned to continue expanding.
“What you see [in the U.S.] is a full lineup of electric vehicles that, frankly, no one else has, punctuated by the $30,000 Bolt that’s about ready to launch, all the way up through Celestiq and Escalades,” he told Newsweek.
“We’ve got a huge portfolio across all our brands on just about every segment of internal combustion engines as well. Chevrolet is America’s number two EV brand. That’s a big statement. And then GM, as a company, is the number two in the U.S. EV market. We’ve grown that more than anybody else [in the U.S.] over the last year. I’m really proud of that.”
Reuss sees the key to that success being flexible manufacturing, something that shared vehicle platforms and investment into assembly plants allows.
Last month, the company announced that it plans to invest $550 million in plants in Michigan and Ohio, as part of a larger $4 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing.
There have been some costly failures along the way. GM launched its BrightDrop electric cargo van business in 2021, only to end production of the vans this autumn.
“The electric van market. It’s really gone away. I think the regulatory piece of that probably hit the commercial electrification market harder than even the retail piece,” Reuss said.
He theorized that it’s difficult for businesses to make the EV transition without a supportive regulatory environment. “Businesses are there to…make money and get operational efficiency out of their vehicles. And, it’s harder to do that with EVs, unless you’re getting credit for that,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean that GM is giving up on the electric van. Reuss believes they have a future, one GM could be a part of, saying, “The infrastructure is coming very fast, and so when that keeps happening, then you know, the operational cost of electricity versus gasoline on a fleet basis is pretty, pretty compelling.” He continued: “It’s something that we’re keeping an eye on, to be honest.”
GM has a history of exiting markets only to come back to them down the road. In 2017, the automaker sold its interest in the Opel and Vauxhall brands to what was then PSA Group, now a part of Stellantis, pulling out of the European market.
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