Mary Barra
General Motors Senior Vice President
Global Product Development
Remarks for GM Electrification Experience
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012
(Speaker’s words are definitive)
Good morning everyone, and welcome. I want to extend my thanks to all of you for taking the
time to join us for this event. I wish I could be with you in person, but other important matters
have kept me in Detroit. Still, I’m pleased to join you by satellite to help kick things off… and
take your questions after my remarks.
I hope you’re ready for two full days of information, discussion, and driving. Let me get us
started by explaining what we plan to cover over the next 48 hours or so.
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I know many of you have heard from various leaders in our company that GM is changing.
We’re leaner, faster, and more customer focused. We’re also doing a much better job of
leveraging our global resources to design, build, and sell products that are among the best in the
world. And we’re taking that same approach when it comes to our technology portfolio.
Those of you who have followed GM for some time know that our recent strategy for developing
cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles was essentially to cover the waterfront – to pursue as
many promising technologies as possible.
Well, that’s not how GM is doing business today. While we are generating record profits, we
need to refine and focus our work. We need to be disciplined and responsible to our
shareholders… and we need to make educated bets on which technologies hold the most
potential for creating value for our customers and our company.
That’s why, over the past few months, I’ve been working with GM’s global product team and
our vice president of product programs, Doug Parks, to better define our advanced-technology
strategy, including electrification. We’ve narrowed our focus to a core set of technologies that
will help us best meet long-term customer demand, with the best, most fun-to-drive, most costeffective solutions for reducing fuel consumption.
When we introduced the Chevy Volt in late 2010, we put a stake in the ground that said GM is in
the electrification game in a very big way. Incidentally, Volt enjoyed its best sales month ever in
October, selling nearly 3,000 units in the U.S. alone. In fact, we’re on track to sell more than
50,000 vehicles equipped with GM electrification technology in the US this year. That puts us
on track to lead some of our major competitors where it counts most – with the customer.
When we announced our plans to build the Volt in 2007, our vision was to build a practical
electric vehicle that would be fully functional, inexpensive to operate, and fun to drive. Many
said it couldn’t be done – the leap in battery technology was simply too great.
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Well, we proved them wrong. End of story, right?
Not at all.
Bringing the Volt to market was really just the beginning of the story… because of what
happened along the way.
Building the Volt required expertise in automotive batteries, electric motors, and power
controls… expertise that GM didn’t completely have when we announced the Volt. So we set
out to get it, by:
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establishing the largest OEM battery lab in the U.S.
hiring 1,000 new engineers and researchers, and
investing more than $800 million in electrification facilities.
Bottom line: what started out as a technology proof point… has turned into a real-world starting
point to push EV technology further and faster than we thought possible five years ago.
Today, the unique propulsion technology pioneered in the Volt – the same technology that will
be featured in the Cadillac ELR – will be a core piece of our electrification strategy going
forward.
Our engineers are now working on future generations of the Volt’s EREV technology to improve
the system’s value and efficiency in the not-too-distant future. In fact, we’re looking at new
ways we can use the EREV technology to provide more innovative options for our customers.
And that’s all I will say about those efforts today!
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Another electrification technology we’ve used to make our vehicles more fuel efficient, with
little in the way of a price premium, is our eAssist technology. It provides upwards of a 25
percent improvement in fuel economy in certain vehicle applications.
eAssist debuted last year as standard equipment on the Buick LaCrosse. It is now standard on
the Buick Regal, as well… it’s available on the Chevy Malibu Eco… and it will soon be
available on the 2014 Chevrolet Impala.
The customer reaction to eAssist has been great…but don’t take my word for it. Look at the
sales numbers. Through October we have sold more than 26,000 vehicles equipped with eAssist.
Our commitment to eAssist is unwavering. In fact, our future portfolio calls for eAssist to be on
hundreds of thousands of GM vehicles annually by 2017. And as you’d expect, we’re now
working to make the next generation of eAssist even better than today’s. We’ll have more news
to announce on eAssist soon. Stay tuned.
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Next summer, we’ll introduce the next chapter in our electrification story – the Chevrolet Spark
EV. You’ll get a chance to drive the car over the next few days and let me tell you – you’re in
for a treat. The car is really, really fun to drive! The acceleration is brisk, the handling is tight
and, of course… it doesn’t use a drop of gas.
We have taken some of our learnings from the Volt and sprinkled them liberally throughout the
Spark EV. We’ll give you more details on the technology in the next two days, ahead of the
official vehicle reveal in Los Angeles in a few weeks.
We believe that full electric vehicles like the Spark EV will play a vital role for our customers in
select markets around the world. And before I go any further, let me clear up a few things that
have been rumored about the Spark EV.
First, this will be a global vehicle for Chevrolet. We have already announced plans to sell the
Spark EV in the U.S. and Korea… and we will have other specific markets to announce in the
coming weeks and months.
Also, unlike some of our competitors, we’re not limiting our EV to lease only. No, our
customers will be able to own the Spark EV and enjoy it for many years to come.
And speaking of years of enjoyment… the Spark EV will feature a comprehensive
eight-year/100,000 mile warranty on its battery system.
Sure, we’ll meet requirements set by certain regulatory agencies, but we’re not building the
Spark EV to check a regulatory box. As you’ll experience, the Spark EV is a spirited, functional,
fun-to-drive car that happens to be pure electric. We think the Spark EV will attract a new group
of customers to Chevrolet who want a car that is green and a whole lot more.
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One more point on our electrification strategy: I want to state clearly, here and now, that a major
focus of GM’s electrification strategy will center on the plug.
We have heard loud and clear from our Volt owners that they love to ability to refuel at home.
In fact, running on electricity, Volt owners have now displaced a pretty amazing five million
gallons of gasoline. And that’s just the beginning.
We think the plug offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute. That’s why I
am proud to say that plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio
going forward. We have every intention of maintaining our leadership position in plugged-in
vehicles.
Traditional hybrid technology is important, of course. But we think plug-in technology will play
an increasingly important role in the years to come, and that’s where a significant part of our
focus will be.
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In fact, our plan calls for producing up to 500,000 vehicles annually with some form of
electrification globally by 2017.
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Finally, let me say a few words about our work beyond electrons – specifically, mass reduction.
In recent history, it’s fair to say that GM hasn’t led the industry when it comes to reducing
vehicle weight… but that’s now changing in a big way.
In fact, we recently launched a new effort to significantly improve all of our vehicles when it
comes to mass reduction… including the use of innovative materials to reduce fuel consumption.
A perfect example is Cadillac ATS.
With a base curb weight just over 3,300 pounds, ATS is the lightest luxury sport sedan in the
world. This contributes to the car’s quick acceleration and nimble handling… and also benefits
fuel economy.
ATS uses advanced materials in many locations, including:
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ultra high-strength steels throughout the car
an aluminum hood and magnesium engine mounts
a laminated windshield that is lighter than traditional tempered glass
and door trim panels made from natural fibers that are lighter than standard-issue plastics.
The result is a car that is both strong and lightweight… both quick and fuel efficient. And that’s
the kind of focus you’ll be seeing from us in this area in the months and years to come.
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So, that’s our vision: electrification bucketed in key, focused areas… with vehicles like the Volt
and Spark EV taking center stage. It’s a set of solutions that we think will benefit our customers
while also meeting regulatory requirements.
With that, I hope you enjoy the next two days. As you can see from the agenda, we plan to keep
you busy… make your time very worthwhile.
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You’ll be hearing about some of the latest advancements we have on tap when it comes
to battery systems and electric motors.
You’ll also hear about how we’re leveraging OnStar to make the ownership experience
more enjoyable.
And this evening, you’ll be joined by our Chief Technology Officer, Jon Lauckner, who
will outline some of the initiatives his group is working on beyond the near term.
Again, welcome to the Electrification Experience. Now, let’s open it up for your comments and
questions.