General Motors CEO reveals new electric vehicle
An all-electric Chevrolet Equinox is General Motors' newest addition to its roster of electric vehicles, the company's CEO and chairwoman Mary Barra revealed Thursday on "CBS Mornings." By the end of 2025, General Motors plans for 40% of its products to be electric and by 2040, the automaker said it anticipates going completely carbon neutral.
"We think this vehicle is going to really change people's minds about electric vehicles," Barra told "CBS Mornings."
The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox starts at around $30,000 and will go on sale in about a year, Barra said.
"When you have the vertical integration, when you have a scalable platform, it allows you to bring vehicles to market at, you know, around $30,000 that are going to be affordable and profitable," Barra said.
The company, she said, was "a little ahead of [its] time" in regard to electric vehicles, referencing its historic EV1 model and recent Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle. "We've been in the EV business for quite a while," she said.
And despite the effect that record inflation has recently had, Barra says she expects consumers to continue buying General Motors products.
"We're watching everything very carefully," she said. "We're still seeing strong demand because there's pent-up demand for autos right now."
But she noted that the company has "seen a lot of challenges" in regard to the supply chain, like a semiconductor shortage and COVID-19 impacts.
"It's getting a little better, but I frankly think it's something that's going to last into next year and maybe a little beyond," Barra said of the shortage.
It's why the company has begun to outsource raw materials within the U.S. or with ally countries, she said.
Ultimately, Barra said the company's all-electric commitment is "the right thing for the environment" and aligns with the company's goal of creating a world with "zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion."
"We want to move to the end game and have products that people can really enjoy because in the auto industry people want the segment, they have to hit certain price points," she said. "That's the very strategic portfolio that we've been developing."
