Watch Out, Tesla … GM Has Big EV Plans

by Christopher Freeburn | September 17, 2013 10:10 am

[1]General Motors (GM[2]) plans to eventually produce an electric car designed to appeal to the average consumer[3].

The auto giant, which already makes the Chevy Volt electric hybrid, is currently working on a new electric car to be priced around $30,000. A GM executive could not say when the car would hit showrooms, but noted that current battery prices made it impossible to hit that price point in the near term, the Wall Street Journal noted.

GM envisions the new car, which could travel up to 200 miles on a charge, as a potential rival to electric cars from Tesla Motors (TSLA[4]). Tesla’s flagship Model S is priced around $70,000, but the company has said it is developing a lower-priced model for the mass market.

A number of other auto manufacturers, including Ford (F[5]) and Nissan (NSANY[6]), are vying to produce electric vehicles. Consumers, however, appear less-than-enthusiastic about the vehicles, which cannot travel as far as traditional gas-powered cars.

The Chevy Volt has been dogged by rumors that GM loses a hefty amount of cash on each Volt it sells[7]. The company has sold about 15,000 Volts this year, due in part of price cuts and incentives.

Volkswagen‘s (VLKAY[8]) CEO recently said that he plans to make the German automaker the world’s leading electric car producer by 2018[9].

Shares of GM rose modestly in Monday morning trading.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/09/watch-out-tesla-gm-has-big-ev-plans/

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