Manoli Katakis 
General Motors recently held its Q1 2021 earnings call with analysts this week, smashing expectations, and shining a light at the end of the tunnel for the continued global microchip shortage that affects vehicle production and inventory. Beyond the strong earnings, General Motors CEO Mary Barra and newly minted GM CFO Paul Jacobson fielded questions from the analysts, which touched on everything from dealer inventories, to the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV. The electric pickup truck, expected to share the same Ultium platform with the likes of the GMC Hummer EV, is expected to be a vital product offering in what’s soon to be a deluge of electric pickup trucks.
“Strong Demand” For Chevrolet Silverado EV
“We’ve gotten really strong response from commercial and government owners as a lot of fleet customers are looking to have zero emission vehicles, said Barra, answering a question from Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner. “We have incredible know-how in this company on how to do full-size trucks, and we’re taking that into into an EV-propelled vehicle. I think that’s going to give us the winning formula.”
“I’m excited to share (Chevrolet Silverado EV) with everyone, because it’s just stunning,” she continued. “I think we’re gonna see strong demand there. It will, along with some other products, be an important part of getting to our goal to have North America leadership. It’s one of a few or several getting into the high volume segments that obviously we need to do and GM is well positioned to do building on the Ultium Platform to achieve that leadership.”
General Motors: 2035 EV “Aspiration”
“There’s some important products coming… with the investments that we’ve made over the last 5-7 years with new platforms from an ICE perspective. Whether it’s small, mid or full size trucks or SUVs, we don’t have to make huge investments in architectures,” said GM CEO Mary Barra, answering a question from Bank of America’s John Murphy, asking what ICE vehicles will still be launched between now and 2025, just four years out. “It’s mainly making sure those customers win in the marketplace from a customer-facing perspective. That’s what we’ll be focused on frankly between now and 2035 when our aspiration is to sell all EVs from a light-duty vehicle perspective.”
While Barra – who was recently on the cover of Time Magazine – wouldn’t detail some of the new ICE vehicles on the horizon, there are quite a few, but entirely new models are slim. Variants such as the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V and 2022 Corvette Z06 are bound to grab headlines between now and their inevitable debuts. Refreshes for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 are also imminent, highlighted by the 2022 Silverado ZR2 off-road pickup truck. As for next-generation models, look for an all-new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon in a few years’ time. Additionally, GM has trademarked recent names like Cheyenne, which could point to another vehicle, but details remain slim for now.
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