Photo: GM
General Motors insisted that it can still produce 150,000 electric vehicles by the end of the year, despite disappointing production numbers in the first half of the year. GM President of North America Rory Harvey said GM would speed up EV production in the year's second half. He blamed the first-half results on supply-chain bottlenecks, especially battery cell supply.
On paper, General Motors has one of the most solid EV programs in the industry, covering all the bases, from the raw materials and battery factories to the countless EV models arriving soon. Still, something is wrong with the company's execution, considering that its Ultium-based EVs are almost non-existent. Instead, GM churns out Chevy Bolt EVs like there's no tomorrow, which is very accurate, in fact, since GM announced it would retire it at the end of this year.
When it reported that only two GMC Hummer EVs were delivered in the first quarter, GM was still confident it could sell 50,000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2023. Then it would accelerate to double that in the second half of the year, for a total of 150,000 EVs. Impressive, isn't it? Except that one quarter later, GM missed its self-imposed target, with only 36,000 units delivered in the first six months of 2023. Almost all were Chevrolet Bolt EV/Bolt EUV, with only 2,365 Ultium-based EVs produced.
GM talked very little in its Q2 2023 shareholder deck about the lackluster EV production, hiding behind the good results of its ICE vehicles. No mention of the "breakaway year for EVs" that 2023 was supposed to be. The 150,000 EV target for 2023 looks like a fantasy, but this doesn't stop GM executives from boasting again about GM's great EV perspectives.
In a recent discussion with the media, GM President of North America Rory Harvey said the company would speed up EV production in the second half of the year. Harvey was confident that the battery cell supply would not be a problem anymore, allowing GM to ramp up production significantly. GM is coming "up to speed on battery capacity and building momentum, and I anticipate a lot more EVs being built in the second half of this year than the first half of this year," Harvey told Detroit Free Press.
According to people familiar with the matter, GM faces serious supply problems at its Factory Zero in Hamtramck, where the GMC Hummer EV is produced. Things are moving slowly because anything in the supply chain, from the drive units to batteries or something else entirely, might stop arriving on the production line at any given time. "You get one part, and suddenly it's a different one that's needed," one source told Detroit Free Press.
Semiconductor supplies are still an issue, although things are significantly better than last year. Still, the battery cell supply is the main bottleneck, despite increased production at GM's Ultium Cells plant in northeast Ohio, which opened last year as a joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Logistics also hamper GM's results, with a severe shortage of rail cars plaguing the entire auto industry. GM executives revealed that these are an even bigger problem than supply chain issues.
When it reported that only two GMC Hummer EVs were delivered in the first quarter, GM was still confident it could sell 50,000 electric vehicles in the first half of 2023. Then it would accelerate to double that in the second half of the year, for a total of 150,000 EVs. Impressive, isn't it? Except that one quarter later, GM missed its self-imposed target, with only 36,000 units delivered in the first six months of 2023. Almost all were Chevrolet Bolt EV/Bolt EUV, with only 2,365 Ultium-based EVs produced.
GM talked very little in its Q2 2023 shareholder deck about the lackluster EV production, hiding behind the good results of its ICE vehicles. No mention of the "breakaway year for EVs" that 2023 was supposed to be. The 150,000 EV target for 2023 looks like a fantasy, but this doesn't stop GM executives from boasting again about GM's great EV perspectives.
In a recent discussion with the media, GM President of North America Rory Harvey said the company would speed up EV production in the second half of the year. Harvey was confident that the battery cell supply would not be a problem anymore, allowing GM to ramp up production significantly. GM is coming "up to speed on battery capacity and building momentum, and I anticipate a lot more EVs being built in the second half of this year than the first half of this year," Harvey told Detroit Free Press.
According to people familiar with the matter, GM faces serious supply problems at its Factory Zero in Hamtramck, where the GMC Hummer EV is produced. Things are moving slowly because anything in the supply chain, from the drive units to batteries or something else entirely, might stop arriving on the production line at any given time. "You get one part, and suddenly it's a different one that's needed," one source told Detroit Free Press.
Semiconductor supplies are still an issue, although things are significantly better than last year. Still, the battery cell supply is the main bottleneck, despite increased production at GM's Ultium Cells plant in northeast Ohio, which opened last year as a joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Logistics also hamper GM's results, with a severe shortage of rail cars plaguing the entire auto industry. GM executives revealed that these are an even bigger problem than supply chain issues.
Google News