Every automotive brand admits to an all electric, or at least non fossil fuel, future. While automakers are investing heavily on EV programs, non are quite so extensive as the plans over at General Motors, at least not to public knowledge. Yes, there is Tesla and other upcoming brands, such as Rivian, but I am talking about the brands that are not traditionally known for making electric vehicles.
Despite the talk of future electrics, brand strategies are difficult to predict. GM has an interesting strategy, and while there may not be quite enough information on the market to be fully sure what to expect, there is just enough to paint a somewhat clear picture.
From what is known, apart from heavy investment, is that GM has an electric vehicle strategy centered around 1 central platform, one which has endless possibilities for what the company envisions for its future electric vehicles. This platform can be utilized for a variety of uses as a sedan, coupe, crossover, or SUV. It is modular, meaning it can be stretched longer or shorter to accommodate different wheelbases. It can also be configured to handle front wheel, rear wheel, or all wheel drive configurations. This platform, which already serves a role in the current Chevy Bolt EV, is so versatile that it saves GM a lot of work when it comes to worrying about vehicle architectures.
Currently, separate platforms need to be set up to accommodate different vehicle classes, such as sedans, crossovers, and coupes. With this new platform utilized, it saves a lot of the grunt work associated with developing different platforms and architectures. Of course, a lot of engineering work must still be done specific to whatever type of model runs on it, but the skateboard platform is going to be highly utilized in the future and make it cheaper and more efficient for the automaker to further develop electric vehicles. To the knowledge of many, it is not fully known if other automakers are as far along, apart from the fully electric ones like Tesla, in terms of preparing an EV platform for across the line utilization.
While we are still a few years off from seeing many of these upcoming vehicles, it is safe to say that they will help serve GM’s continued development for Autonomous Vehicles as their development continues past the current generation Bolt that Cruise Automation is testing with in California.
In addition to this, it is known that at the forefront of GM’s EV strategy will be the Cadillac brand, which will utilize GM’s latest technologies and luxury amenities with the EV platform for an exemplary driving experience.
Given that EVs are hailed for their reliability, great driving dynamics, and clean operation, GM could have a winning strategy on their hands, if they play their cards right. Of course, it will be difficult to de-thrown Tesla as the leading EV automaker and produce best selling products given the relatively low demand for electric vehicles at this time. We really will have to wait and see what GM’s bigger strategy will be for building and selling these vehicles, but if they continue to plan as they have and deliver properly, they may very well find themselves a winner as the auto industry begins to transition more heavily towards EVs.