General Motors Co. on Wednesday kicked off its two-day investor event by unveiling plans to double its annual revenue to about $280 billion by the end of the decade in a transition to “an all-electric future.”
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Chief Executive Mary Barra took the stage around 1 p.m. Eastern promising to show investors the auto maker’s “determination to own the opportunities before us,” and to transform itself from “auto maker to platform innovator.”
“We have changed the world before, and we’ll do it again,” Barra said.
GM vowed to be a market-share leader in EVs while also growing profits from its traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.
It highlighted its Ultium EV platform, a building block for “highly desirable” EVs using scalable components, which could also be used in other vehicles beyond cars.
The company reiterated its goal to invest $35 billion in EVs, and said that it plans for more than 50% of its North America and China manufacturing footprint to be capable of EV production by 2030.
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GM “came out swinging,” analyst Dan Ives at Wedbush said in a note later on Wednesday.
GM’s $280 billion revenue goal by 2030 would compare with revenue slightly over $122 billion last year. Analyst consensus calls for revenue around $136 billion this year.
The target is “ambitious” but “achievable and ultimately beatable as the company converts the vast majority of its customer base to EVs over the coming years,” Ives said.
The auto maker also unveiled Ultra Cruise, a new suite of advanced driver-assistance systems, with the future goal of allowing hands-free driving in 95% of all driving scenarios, GM said.
Ultra Cruise, to be on vehicles on the road by 2023, would be reserved for premium vehicles, while GM’s existing Super Cruise, which would coexist with the newer offering, would be reserved to cheaper models, GM said.
Barra said that GM already makes money from Super Cruise subscriptions, and Ultra Cruise would bring even more subscription revenue.
GM and other auto makers have focused on EVs and autonomous driving, and recently pledged to boost their EV production to the point that they account for about half of total U.S. sales by 2030, a plan that has raised hopes that EVs can shift from niche to normal.
GM has faced hurdles, however, more recently announcing an extended recall of its Chevy Bolt electric-car due to fire risks. GM is starting to swap the batteries affected this month, an effort expected to cost the company about $1.8 billion, one of its costlier recalls.
The “growing Chevy Bolt recall has been a near-term black eye for the company,” Ives said, but he keeps a bullish view on the stock on the expectation the car maker will gain more EV market share.
The company also unveiled a partnership with a subsidiary of General Electric Co.
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GE Renewable Energy, to look at ways to improve supplies of materials used in EV batteries and renewable-energy equipment, such as rare-earth metals, copper, electrical steel, and others.
Related: GM says it is ahead of schedule in some clean-energy goals
The goal is to create a “secure, sustainable and resilient” supply chain for EV materials, the company said.
Shares of GM have gained 30% this year, compared with an advance of around 15% for the S&P 500 index.
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