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General Motors Set to Fight Chip Shortage With Its Own Microchips by 2025

The microchip shortage affects every carmaker, and General Motors brands have not been spared either. But the company steered by Mary Barra has generally done better than the rivals at Ford. Although the problems are not over yet, GM is on course to develop its own microchips by 2025.
General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025 8 photos
Photo: Intel
General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025General Motors set to fight chip shortage with its own microchips by 2025
GM CEO Mary Barra announced this in a recent interview with Associated Press. While many consider the interview merely a publicity stunt, there are still interesting things to digest, coming from the CEO of the biggest carmaker in the U.S. Among them is the information that GM will have its own family of microchips locked in by 2025. This should help GM brands overcome the pesky chip shortages and alleviate existing production problems.

According to Barra, the parts and chip shortages are expected to last well into next year. At the same time, renewed coronavirus outbreaks will further hamper production. To fight the semiconductor shortage, GM will follow the steps of Tesla and develop its own microchips. This way, GM risks alienating traditional suppliers, which so far were in charge of acquiring the chips needed in car production. But this is not on Barra’s radar at the moment, as the problems GM faces are more important.

According to GM’s CEO, GM will move toward three families of chips by 2025 that the carmaker will buy and control itself. The chips will be able to do a multitude of tasks, which means that GM can do away with dozens of chips in every vehicle. The standardization of microchips will allow GM to buy them in huge quantities for use across its vast portfolio of brands and models. This leads to economies of scale and also to better control and stable supply.

“We’re also working with a select group of strategic companies to source these for the volumes,” said Barra in the interview. “We’ll have much better control and a stable supply.”

Mary Barra has recently doubled down on the pledge to unseat Tesla as the leader of the EV market by 2025. She nevertheless scaled down her ambitions to the U.S. territory, although she claimed global domination just a couple of months ago. She’s also in the middle of a controversy, as she announced GM would produce the Chevy Blazer EV in Mexico, making a lot of people angry.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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