General Motors on Thursday released its 2019 Sustainability Report that revealed new details of its upcoming flood of electric vehicles.
And the automaker promised to make further improvements in its diversity hiring.
“In some cases we feel good about the progress we’ve made, but we know we can do better,” Dane Parker, GM’s Sustainability Officer, told reporters. “Where we are is necessary, but we need to improve as we move forward.”
GM said Cadillac, its luxury brand, will see new all-electric SUVs that mirror many of its internal combustion engine models already in the lineup.
Cadillac will reveal an electric “globally sized luxury three-row SUV,” according to the report. That matches the description of its current XT6 SUV, a detail not previously disclosed.
Also new, Cadillac will offer an all-electric SUV with “attainable luxury — similar to today’s Cadillac XT4.”
Another hint at Cadillac’s upcoming EV lineup is a statement in the report that there will be a full-size, three-row luxury SUV that reflects the iconic Escalade.
Finally, GM has previously said it will hand-build a halo vehicle called the Cadillac Celestiq, but in the report GM discloses that only 1.2 Celestiqs will be made per day.
GM has promised to bring at least 20 new electric vehicles to market by 2023. GM has said it plans for additional models beyond that, with a vision of an all-electric future to support its mantra of “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion.”
“Transitioning to all-electric vehicles is central to a zero-emissions future,” said GM CEO Mary Barra in the opening statement of the report. “Our new, flexible platform and Ultium battery system will help us build EVs across all our brands. By mid-decade, we expect to sell a million EVs a year across our global markets.”
More than 80% of EV charging is done at home, Parker said, but GM is vocal on its desire for a federal policy that will support more charging stations and other infrastructure to make EV ownership more desirable. Also, GM seeks consistent consumer government tax incentives for EV purchases, Parker said.
GM listed these forthcoming EVs in its Sustainability Report:
Two new all-electric vehicles will be the new face of the brand:
Additionally, GM’s self-driving Cruise Origin will be the first production vehicle from GM’s partnership with Honda.
GM is investing $2.2 billion to retool its Detroit-Hamtramck plant to assemble all-electric vehicles. It will start building the electric GMC Hummer next year, then the Cruise Origin.
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In fact, GM insiders dub the plant “Factory Zero” because the cars it will build will all have zero emissions. GM has said once the plant is fully operational, it will create 2,200 jobs.
In its Sustainability Report, GM said it will allocate more than $20 billion of capital and engineering resources to its electric and autonomous vehicle programs between now and 2025.
GM continues to build a battery cell plant in a joint venture with LG Chem near Lordstown, Ohio, which will make Ultium cells. The Ultium battery enables a variety of electric vehicles to be built across brands and segments on the same platform.
Furthering its commitment to the environment, GM said by 2030 half of the content on each of its new vehicles is to be sourced from “non-virgin” or recycled items. It is also studying using bio-based materials such as algae in future cars.
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Other goals: By 2025, GM plans for 90% of its global facilities to produce zero waste. By 2030, all of GM’s U.S. plants will run on renewable energy. By 2040, all of GM’s global plants will run on renewable energy.
GM also is committed to people, especially improving inclusion and diversity in its workplace, Parker said.
GM’s report said women hold 32.2% of GM’s top management positions within two levels of the CEO, and it is the only major U.S. company with both a female CEO and CFO.
For the year, GM hired 18,311 people globally, 6,768 of them women.
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In early June, Barra penned a letter to employees amid the race protests announcing she was commissioning and would chair an Inclusion Advisory Board made up of internal and external leaders, effective by the end of the quarter. Its goal is to inspire GM to be “the most inclusive company in the world.”
“We’ve been recognized on the work we’ve done on inclusion and diversity but we realize we have more work to do,” Parker said. “We’re optimistic that our voice along with the voice of others can make changes in this area.”
Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.