On Monday, General Motors, America’s largest automaker, announced it will introduce 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023, with two new all-electric vehicles being launched within the next 18 months.
In the meantime, Ford Motors also announced the creation of “Team Edison,” intended to accelerate the company’s EV development and partnership work. Ford also will introduce 13 electric models over the next several years, with a five-year investment of $4.5 billion.
General Motors’ plan for the future
Speaking at a press conference in Detroit Monday morning, GM’s executive vice president of global product development Mark Reuss said GM was “committed to an all-electric future,” but cautioned that it wasn’t going to happen “by flipping a switch.”
“These aren’t just words in a war of press releases,” Reuss added. “We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world.” Reuss cited what the company had learned from it best-selling, mass-marketed EV, Chevy Bolt. But Reuss pointed out the new EVs won’t look exactly like the Chevy Bolt or even share a similar structure.
“Whatever we do, from an electrification standpoint, the next version will be better than the version we have on the road,” Reuss said. “That vision involves everything that we’ve learned from the Bolt, but the architecture piece of this continues to evolve.” He cited lighter vehicles and more flexible battery packs.
Ford creates “Team Edison” to speed development of EVs
Ford’s Sherif Marakby said in an interview, the company has created “Team Edison,” a group focused on speeding up the worldwide development of electric vehicles. And this includes forming partnerships with suppliers and other companies. Ford aims to “look holistically” at the EV space and “make quicker” decisions as EV technologies evolve.
Ted Cannis, the global director of Ford’s electrification efforts will work with teams in China and Europe from Team Edison’s Homebase in Detroit. And Ford is putting its money where its mouth is, so to speak, with the expansion of its EV lineup, but right now, the competition with GM has heated up.
Sherif Marakby, Ford’s vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification told Reuters, “But we are absolutely open to (EV) partnerships in different markets, and we continue to talk to other companies and Tier One suppliers. Don’t be surprised to see more partnerships in electric vehicles in different markets,” he said.
As the New York Times is reporting, automakers believe they can solve the problem of achieving — as G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, has begun stressing — “a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.”
