How EVs Are Made Matters, General Motors Sustainability Chief Says – Forbes

General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced back in January, 2021 that GM would sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Pivoting a 100+-year old company is a massive undertaking, and then imagine that they have to keep manufacturing and selling their current fleet of vehicles at the same time and know when to stop those.

“We’re confident that the investments that we’re making at GM, particularly in manufacturing, in our workforce, and then the things that are coming along with it, infrastructure, supply chain, and clean energy in the decarbonization of the grid, I think are really going to establish the U.S. as a global leader in electrification, you know, both today and in the future,” Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer at GM explained in an exclusive interview on Electric Ladies Podcast recently.

GM has committed over $35 billion to electric and alternative fuel vehicles by 2035, Siemen said. That includes committing to “have over 50% of our facilities producing EVs here in the U.S. by 2025,” as well as “four battery plants here in the U.S., (and) a number of supply chain agreements again to really get those critical minerals happening here.”

From battery technologies and recycling, to workforce training and supplier incentives, to responsible water and energy use, to investing in charging infrastructure, GM is pulling out all the stops to keep its commitment to only manufacture EVs and AVs by 2035, building on their 25-year history in EVs, going back to the EV One.

“This is not all new to us. In fact, we have a number of engineers that are working on the battery technology today, our TM platform, that were involved in those other programs (including the Volt and Bolt), and so it’s really exciting to see that transition accelerate,” she said, “We really feel strongly that our workforce is a competitive advantage and the strength that we have in our manufacturing team, they know better than anyone, how to put a vehicle together and what it takes to really put out a quality product.”

She added that though there’s a lot of retraining to do for the transition to all-EVs/AVs, that it is not quite as daunting as some might think, because, “Even though part of the vehicle will be different, over 80% of it is the same. And so, it really allows us to make that transition and do it fast.”

What will it take for EVs to be the norm? “It’s such a fun product to drive”

With only a fraction of current vehicle on U.S. roads being electric and alternative fuel vehicles, there’s a steep hill to climb to get them to be mainstream.

But we may be at what Car and Driver magazine calls a “turning point,” because in the first quarter of 2022, EV sales spiked 60% at the same time that overall vehicle sales were down 18%, according to research by Automotive News.

What will it take for electric and alternative fuel vehicles to be the norm? Siemen said it’s a combination of educating the consumer, accessible charging infrastructure, and having a range of vehicles available for all types of drivers and budgets. “We’re very focused on having a portfolio that crosses every price point in every segment….and to solve their problems.”

But it will also take educating the consumer about electric vehicles, she added. “I think it’s education. I think it’s the consumers and customers really understanding what an EV is like. And I mean, honestly, once anybody drives an EV it’s hard to go back because it’s such a fun product to drive. You know, instant acceleration and the freedom of not having to go to a gas station frequently…. People need to be able to see that they can live within an EV world and that, you know, if they’re driving from Detroit to Florida or east to west across the U.S., that they see the charging stations.”

That’s in part why GM supports the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, and CHIPS Act

“We really support the provisions (in the 2022 legislation) that are going to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and strengthen American manufacturing and jobs,” Siemen declared. “The consumer EV purchase incentives for new used and commercial EVs are very important. The production tax credits to support the domestic critical mineral processing and EV production, and then even the grants to support the transition of our facilities,” are provisions that she specified that GM supports, in part because, “we’re very focused on our supply chain.”

She said they have a “Supplier ESG pledge,” that includes the suppliers goals in carbon emissions, human rights and ethics, and that over 65% of their suppliers have committed to it.

“Because,” Siemen emphasized, “it’s not just about what we source, but it’s how we source it…and how it’s manufactured.”

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