General Motors Isn’t ‘Walking Away’ From EVs, Top Exec Says

• GM says a fourth-generation EV platform is coming soon.
• Despite sinking sales in the U.S., GM is not “walking away” from EVs. 
• This new-generation EV platform will use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) cells. 

As the entire U.S. EV market recalibrates in dramatic fashion, General Motors wants you to know it still sees electric cars as the future.

During today’s GM Forward event in New York, GM President Mark Reuss reiterated that the company is not giving up on EVs. Rather, it’s coming back stronger with cars that are better tailored for the realities of our EV market.

“We’re a global company. One of every four vehicles sold around the world is [an EV], and that number is only rising,” Reuss said. “We’re not walking away from that. We’re embracing it. We continue to develop our future EVs and work to reduce battery costs. And when the U.S. market is ready for EVs in large numbers, we will be there for them.”

“The investments we’re making in battery technology, EV platforms, software, energy management, and advanced manufacturing are investments in an electric future,” he said. “They demonstrate that GM is committed to EVs for the long term, even as we give customers choice today.”

At Wednesday’s event, GM laid out a vision that includes heavily updated EVs and more high-tech combustion vehicles too. The company touted shorter development times, software-defined vehicles with more powerful compute architectures, and a fourth-generation EV platform that will underpin a range of crossovers down the line.

Details about the platform are still scant, but GM says it is designed for mainstream adoption and uses its lower-cost lithium manganese-rich (LMR) cells. GM has positioned LMR cells as key to reducing costs for both manufacturing and buyers. It says the cells can cost about the same as lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, while offering energy density that rivals high-nickel batteries. The new vehicles, GM says, will need 20% less battery than its previous ones and will weigh less too. The new platform will also use a centralized computing platform.

In the U.S., EV sales have faltered over the last year after the EV tax credit disappeared and pro–EV regulations were axed. General Motors spent years building out a broad lineup of EVs, and it hasn’t been spared in the new more difficult environment. Chevrolet EV sales have been roughly cut in half so far this year, while electric Cadillac sales are down about 10%.

The results are clear. Gas trucks are back in focus for GM, the Bolt is ending production with fewer than expected units produced, and Honda’s variants of GM’s Ultium cars are dead. But the powertrain is only gaining ground globally.

EVs made up around 30% of car sales in Europe in September. In some European countries, new EV sales are already outpacing combustion vehicles. GM knows this well from operating in China, where electrified vehicles are vastly more popular than gas-powered ones. It sees the writing on the wall: EVs will only become more significant over time, despite the choppy waters in the U.S. right now.

GM didn’t announce a timeline for its fourth-generation EVs at GM Forward, but Reuss said they should launch “very shortly.”

Additional reporting by Tim Levin

Updated at 4:06 PM ET with additional comments from GM President Mark Reuss.