GM’s EV Price-Slicing Plan Goes Past Batteries, Mary Barra Says

• Common Motors is in search of methods to scale back electrical car costs past simply utilizing cheaper batteries.
• The automaker will introduce its next-generation software-defined car in 2028.
• Less complicated electrical architectures and fewer wiring will help make future GM EVs extra aggressive.

Common Motors is working to scale back the price of its electrical automobiles, past simply utilizing cheaper lithium-ion batteries, the automaker mentioned Tuesday throughout its fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings name.

The replace comes simply because the automaker booked over $7 billion in fees associated to chopping down its EV ambitions final yr, which incorporates issues like contract cancellation charges and changing its Orion, Michigan, EV meeting plant for the manufacturing of full-size gasoline vehicles and SUVs.

Price stays one of many largest boundaries to broader EV adoption. Whereas extra inexpensive fashions are lastly on the horizon, most EVs bought within the U.S. immediately nonetheless value greater than comparable gasoline automobiles. Automakers have realized that demand is strongest on the decrease finish of the market, the place the premium for going electrical is usually decrease. Consequently, the main target has shifted towards chopping prices in each attainable manner.

GM’s future lithium manganese wealthy batteries.

Photograph by: Patrick George

Whereas GM is on observe to introduce cheaper battery chemistries resembling lithium manganese wealthy (LMR) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP), it’s taking extra steps to deliver EV costs down.

“The investments we’re making now shall be very a lot targeted on value discount,” Common Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra mentioned throughout the earnings name. “We now have groups on every of our EVs to proceed to take prices out past the battery,” Barra added.

Barra didn’t say the place precisely these value reductions would stem from, however one extremely probably space is its upcoming software-defined car platform.

“In 2028, we count on to launch our second-generation software program design car structure for ice automobiles and EVs,” Barra mentioned. “It can unite each main system from propulsion to infotainment and security on a single, high-speed compute core.”

GM CEO Mary Barra on the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq reveal

Photograph by: Cadillac

Legacy automakers at the moment are following Tesla and Rivian to construct software-defined automobiles. The important thing causes for the pivot embrace the huge simplification {of electrical} architectures that SDVs can allow, with issues like a discount within the variety of on-board digital management items and chopping down the size of wiring harnesses to scale back weight and save prices.

Rivian, as an illustration, mentioned final yr that it was decreasing the variety of ECUs from 17 in its first-generation R1T and R1S fashions to only seven on the second-generation automobiles. That, paired with shaving off 1.6 miles of wiring harness, helped the carmaker shave off 44 kilos of weight, which all helps with total prices and effectivity.

Common Motors is probably going heading down an analogous route. Its new SDV platform will launch on the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028which may also embrace a brand new lidar sensor to allow Stage 3, eyes-off and hands-off autonomy in sure driving situations.

On the similar time, GM is aggressively pursuing lower-cost LMR and LFP battery chemistries. It mentioned final yr that LMR batteries will assist its full-size vehicles and SUVs obtain a driving vary of over 400 miles at prices akin to LFP batteries. These fashions will launch someday in 2028.

Plus, GM will introduce cheaper LFP batteries on the upcoming Chevy Bolt EV and a future trim of the Silverado EV. LFP batteries are extraordinarily in style in China and are a key enabler of lower-priced EVs. GM has mentioned that LFP batteries will enable value reductions of round $6,000 per car.

“We all know EV drivers don’t typically return to ICE, so we’ll proceed executing our plan to dramatically cut back value and be nicely positioned for the longer term,” Barra mentioned.

Contact the writer: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com