GM touts gas-powered lineup, ditches ‘Ultium’ name in EV battery shake-up

General Motors’ 2024 Wall Street financial analysts meeting outlined an optimistic outlook for the automaker, even as it navigates a changing EV landscape and adjusts its strategy in response to shifting market conditions.

Held at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, manufacturing site, the meeting focused on GM’s strong performance with its gas and diesel-powered trucks and SUVs, and provided an update of the future of its electric vehicle (EV) portfolio.

Staying the course: GM reaffirmed its expectations for improving profitability in the EV segment, pointing to two primary factors:

• The company will reduce its battery cell costs due to the quality, efficiency, and scale of its joint venture cell plants – and other efficiencies achieved through GM’s “purpose-built” EV platform. 

• It will continue to focus on reducing its fixed costs, which have decreased by $2 billion over the last two years.

Worth noting:  As GM explores new EV battery types and chemistries, the automaker announced it will discontinue the “Ultium,” despite heavy investments in marketing the brand over the past few years. 

What they’re saying: “We’re moving from a single-source, single-form factor, single-chemistry to a multi-chemistry, multi-form factor, multi-supplier strategy,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery told The Information. “What we’re going to do going forward is really optimize for each vehicle.”

GM also updated its production outlook, saying it’s on track to produce around 200,000 EVs in North America this year. This guidance has been revised down from earlier expectations of 200,000 to 250,000 units, which had already been lowered from an initial target of 300,000. Despite these adjustments, GM is confident it will reach profitability in key production areas by the end of 2024.     

More than EVs: GM highlighted other aspects of its business strategy that the company said support its performance outlook.

• The automaker will build on the strength of its gas and diesel-powered vehicle portfolio – with eight new or redesigned SUVs in the works. 

• GM will also work closely with its partners to improve its performance in China.    

Why it matters: GM – like practically every other major automaker – has previously leaned heavily on electric vehicles as a central part of its future performance strategy, which will take longer than initially expected to yield a substantial profit.

But the company’s strength and commitment to its gas and diesel-powered vehicles should reassure investors that the company can navigate the challenges associated with investing in EVs.

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