General Motors CEO Mary Barra believes the automaker’s stock has a long runway ahead of it as the automaker pivots to focus on all-electric vehicles.
After a decade of lackluster growth in the automaker’s stock, shares of GM are up 36% this year following a slew of new product announcements, including plans to sell auto insurance and to shift its entire lineup to EVs by 2035. Barra expects that upward trend to continue.
“I think as the market begins to see all of the assets and resources General Motors brings to this transformation, I think we’re just at the beginning of where you’ll see GM’s stock move,” she said during an online discussion Thursday for The Economic Club of New York’s Women in Business event.
Barra said it’s not just about GM’s “convergence of electric vehicles, but it’s also improving.” She used GM’s new EV commercial business BrightDrop as an example. The new unit is expected to supply EVs as well as logistical services and other products such as a propulsion-assisted, electric pallets to commercial customers.
“We’re not just changing the propulsion system, we’re saying, ‘How do we make the whole experience better?'” she said, citing a pilot delivery program between BrightDrop and FedEx seeing “significant productivity increases.”
Pam Fletcher, vice president of global innovation, has described BrightDrop as a “one-stop shop ecosystem” for commercial customers. Its first product will be the pallet, followed by a new all-electric van called the EV600 by the end of this year.
The commercial market is expected to be a major growth area for EVs. Other start-up automakers like Amazon-backed Rivian as well as legacy automakers such as Ford Motor and Daimler have announced plans to enter the segment. GM estimates the combined market opportunity for parcel, food delivery and reverse logistics in the U.S. will be more than $850 billion by 2025.
Barra sat on a panel discussion Thursday with Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser that was moderated by CNBC’s Sara Eisen.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
