Late last year, General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, said very clearly that she expected the brand to overtake Tesla as the top-EV brand by 2025. Now, she’s doubling down on the claim and has laid down what she sees as the path to that success. Central to that plan are low-cost EVs that occupy the $30,000 to $35,000 price range.
In a new interview with the AssociatedPress, Barra addressed far more than just the aim of EV pricing though. She says that GM has a plan to overcome all of the major hurdles facing the brand as it tries to scale up to the point where it’s looking at Tesla in the rearview mirror.
There’s a lot of ground to make up too. Last year, Tesla sold some 350,000 vehicles while GM didn’t crack even ten percent of that number with just 25,000 total sales. According to Barra, pricing is the biggest factor though. “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,” she said.
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To walk around Tesla as quickly as it aims to, GM will need to have a steady stream of parts, including batteries, and it’ll need to overcome charging concerns for potential buyers. Addressing the former concern she says that “We’re also working with a select group of strategic companies to source these for the volumes. We’ll have much better control and a stable supply.”
Securing a steady supply of parts is only the first step though. General Motors is also heavily investing in charging station infrastructure. Not only are they placing some 2,000 charging stations in up to 500 Pilot Travel centers across the country but they’re also offering a free in-home charging station to all EV customers.
Of course, GM isn’t the only one gunning for Tesla. Ford, Hyundai, Kia, and others are working hard to improve products, supply, and sales across the country. Tesla has built itself quite the lead at this point but it will clearly take a lot more than flashy promises to keep it at this point.
