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General Motors extended its winning record today by posting strong earnings again, including a record earnings (EBIT-adjusted) of $4.1 billion in the second quarter, and $8.5 billion in the first half. Chair and CEO Mary Barra said that it is also “accelerating our engineering and capital investments in electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving technology (AVs) by $8 billion to $35 billion from 2020-2025.” (AutoInformed.com on GM Posts Formidable First-Quarter 2021 Results; GM Ups Bet by $35B in Autonomous, Electric Vehicle Games)
With GM’s evolving view on Automobility it is placing itself squarely in the middle of a global battle royal among other automotive giants such as Honda,Toyota, Stellantis and Volkswagen Group, by developing a full EV portfolio that doesn’t depend on “partial solutions” like hybrids and “electrified” ICE vehicles. It is also a warning about an emerging industry problem – battery fires. Barra said on the earnings call that this is rare but recalled about 69,000 Bolt vehicles to ensure customer safety.
Click to Enlarge.
Similar to other global automakers, GM is investing to achieving the “end solution of zero emissions” more quickly. This, of course, will not only require continued strong earnings, but the expert management of the complex and thus far unending global semiconductor shortage. Other givens are the ranking the highest-demand, capacity-constrained products, and developing sustainable, long-term supply chain resolutions. In short, this is automotive triage on an unheard scale. Not all will survive in AI’s view.
GM now predicts full-year EBIT-adjusted in the range of $11.5 billion to $13.5 billion, compared with $10 billion to $11 billion previously stated. Yes, that’s a $2 Billion swing, which defines the complexity of the ongoing Covid disaster that has flummoxed governments mired in failed ideologies and ignorant of complex infectious diseases.
Click to Enlarge.
“There will be challenges,” said Barra on an earnings call peopled with analysts, some looking for simple arithmetic when something beyond Principia Mathematica’s calculus is needed. AutoInformed will ignore short term market swings in stock value here. This is going to be a turbulent flight into the future.
In other laws of motion where GM has demonstrable expertise, the first Ultium-based vehicles are due this this fall – the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup, and the BrightDrop EV600 electric commercial vehicle. Next up in early 2022 by the all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ SUV. Cadillac said today that it will begin taking LYRIQ reservations on Sept. 18. GM has also confirmed that both Chevrolet and GMC will offer battery electric full-size pickups based on Ultium. (AutoInformed.com GMC Adds Hummer SUV EV. Direct Selling Without Dealers?)
The great unknown here are politics and customer demand. In the US the infrastructure badly needs fixing and redirecting over the bodies of Republicans voicing dead, disproven ideologies of the past. The economy also needs close tending so that not only the non-taxpaying rich can lease SUVs between space flights, but that most working people can afford them as labor force participation increases. Neither is certain. (AutoInformed.com GM Needs Range, Battery Cost Cuts to Speed EV Plans)
GM has more than 30 EV models it is launching in North America and China by 2025. GM stockholder and creditor investments, which include selling more than 1 million EVs globally by 2025 and earning EV market leadership in North America, are just the start of what it hopes will take market leadership. This goal is not unique to GM.
“This is not just a pivot from building one type of vehicle to another. Our plans for everything, from how and where we obtain raw materials and energy to our finished products, align with our business goals and environmental commitments,” Barra said.
AutoInformed.com on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
GM Posts Record Q2 Earnings of $4.1B Amid Delta Doubts
Click to Enlarge.
General Motors extended its winning record today by posting strong earnings again, including a record earnings (EBIT-adjusted) of $4.1 billion in the second quarter, and $8.5 billion in the first half. Chair and CEO Mary Barra said that it is also “accelerating our engineering and capital investments in electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving technology (AVs) by $8 billion to $35 billion from 2020-2025.” (AutoInformed.com on GM Posts Formidable First-Quarter 2021 Results; GM Ups Bet by $35B in Autonomous, Electric Vehicle Games)
With GM’s evolving view on Automobility it is placing itself squarely in the middle of a global battle royal among other automotive giants such as Honda,Toyota, Stellantis and Volkswagen Group, by developing a full EV portfolio that doesn’t depend on “partial solutions” like hybrids and “electrified” ICE vehicles. It is also a warning about an emerging industry problem – battery fires. Barra said on the earnings call that this is rare but recalled about 69,000 Bolt vehicles to ensure customer safety.
Click to Enlarge.
Similar to other global automakers, GM is investing to achieving the “end solution of zero emissions” more quickly. This, of course, will not only require continued strong earnings, but the expert management of the complex and thus far unending global semiconductor shortage. Other givens are the ranking the highest-demand, capacity-constrained products, and developing sustainable, long-term supply chain resolutions. In short, this is automotive triage on an unheard scale. Not all will survive in AI’s view.
GM now predicts full-year EBIT-adjusted in the range of $11.5 billion to $13.5 billion, compared with $10 billion to $11 billion previously stated. Yes, that’s a $2 Billion swing, which defines the complexity of the ongoing Covid disaster that has flummoxed governments mired in failed ideologies and ignorant of complex infectious diseases.
Click to Enlarge.
“There will be challenges,” said Barra on an earnings call peopled with analysts, some looking for simple arithmetic when something beyond Principia Mathematica’s calculus is needed. AutoInformed will ignore short term market swings in stock value here. This is going to be a turbulent flight into the future.
In other laws of motion where GM has demonstrable expertise, the first Ultium-based vehicles are due this this fall – the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup, and the BrightDrop EV600 electric commercial vehicle. Next up in early 2022 by the all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ SUV. Cadillac said today that it will begin taking LYRIQ reservations on Sept. 18. GM has also confirmed that both Chevrolet and GMC will offer battery electric full-size pickups based on Ultium. (AutoInformed.com GMC Adds Hummer SUV EV. Direct Selling Without Dealers?)
The great unknown here are politics and customer demand. In the US the infrastructure badly needs fixing and redirecting over the bodies of Republicans voicing dead, disproven ideologies of the past. The economy also needs close tending so that not only the non-taxpaying rich can lease SUVs between space flights, but that most working people can afford them as labor force participation increases. Neither is certain. (AutoInformed.com GM Needs Range, Battery Cost Cuts to Speed EV Plans)
GM has more than 30 EV models it is launching in North America and China by 2025. GM stockholder and creditor investments, which include selling more than 1 million EVs globally by 2025 and earning EV market leadership in North America, are just the start of what it hopes will take market leadership. This goal is not unique to GM.
“This is not just a pivot from building one type of vehicle to another. Our plans for everything, from how and where we obtain raw materials and energy to our finished products, align with our business goals and environmental commitments,” Barra said.
AutoInformed.com on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.