Bara GM CEO "The Year of Electric Vehicle Leap... Will Catch Tesla"

65 Trillion KRW Sales and Return to Profitability in 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM) in the United States, stated that this year will be the first year of a full-fledged leap forward in the electric vehicle (EV) competition, narrowing the gap with the traditional powerhouse Tesla. The goal is to increase sales in the electric vehicle sector to 65 trillion won in two years and achieve profitability.

In an interview with Bloomberg News on the 17th (local time), CEO Barra said, "This year will be the first year of a leap (in electric vehicles)," and added, "Based on our product lineup and demand forecasts, I am confident that this year will be a groundbreaking year." She also expressed her ambition to surpass traditional rivals like Ford in electric vehicle sales and take the top spot from Tesla, which has held the number one position for the past decade.

Bloomberg News, citing Bank of America analysis, predicted that GM will produce a total of 1 million electric vehicles by 2025, surpassing Tesla's production volume. GM sold 40,000 electric vehicles last year, ranking third in electric vehicle sales behind Tesla and Ford.

GM is preparing to launch a total of seven new electric vehicle models this year, including Cadillac's first electric vehicle, the Lyriq sport utility vehicle (SUV), and the Chevrolet Silverado.

GM aims to increase electric vehicle sector sales to $50 billion (approximately 65 trillion won) by 2025 through new vehicle launches. The company expects profitability to improve due to subsidies related to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enabling the electric vehicle sector to turn profitable by 2025.

According to LMC Automotive, GM is expected to sell 117,000 electric vehicles this year, ranking second in electric vehicle sales behind Tesla (427,000 units).

Bloomberg reported that CEO Barra, a legendary figure who led GM's heyday and a symbol of GM since former CEO Alfred Sloan, is expected to become GM's longest-serving CEO. It also predicted that Barra's drive for the transition to electric vehicles and GM's "electric vehicle rise" will accelerate further starting from the first quarter of this year and into next year.

The Ohio electric vehicle battery plant operated by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, is accelerating production by increasing output by 20% each quarter.

Additionally, GM plans to invest $650 million (approximately 800 billion won) in lithium mining company Lithium Americas to develop the 'Thacker Pass' lithium mine in Nevada, securing a stable supply of lithium, a key material for electric vehicle batteries.

Through this investment, GM will surpass China's Ganfeng Lithium to become the largest shareholder of Lithium Americas and has agreed to purchase all 40,000 tons of lithium produced annually from the Thacker Pass mine starting in 2026.

Mary Barra GM CEO [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

While Tesla and Ford have successively lowered electric vehicle prices, GM announced that it has no plans to reduce electric vehicle prices this year. CEO Barra dismissed the possibility of price cuts during a conference call after the fourth-quarter earnings announcement last month, stating, "We have currently set the necessary prices."

Earlier, Tesla, the leading company in the U.S. electric vehicle market, discounted its vehicle prices by up to 20%, and Ford Motor Company decided to reduce the price of the Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle by 1.2 to 8.8%, raising expectations that a price war in the electric vehicle market will intensify.

The earnings outlook is also bright. In its fourth-quarter earnings announcement last year, GM forecasted that vehicle sales would increase by 5 to 10% this year, with pre-tax profits expected to be between $10.5 billion and $12.5 billion (approximately 13 trillion to 15.4 trillion won). GM's net profit for the fourth quarter of last year was $2 billion (approximately 2.46 trillion won), a 15% increase from $1.7 billion in the same period the previous year, significantly exceeding market expectations.

During this period, sales reached $43.1 billion (approximately 53 trillion won), increasing as semiconductor shortages and other supply chain issues were resolved. For the entire last year, pre-tax profits reached a record high of $14.5 billion (approximately 17.8 trillion won).

However, Bloomberg pointed out that GM's ambitions this year could be complicated by macroeconomic factors such as a deepening U.S. recession. In response, CEO Barra said, "We are still seeing strong demand," adding, "We are closely monitoring the economic situation and planning for various scenarios."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.