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    Disneyland hikes ticket prices for its highest-demand days

    Disneyland is raising the price of its most in-demand tickets starting Wednesday.
    The base entry price will remain at $104 while others will increase between $7 and $12.
    The park’s Magic Key annual pass prices will rise between 6% and 20%, or $100 to $125 depending on the pass type.

    Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, celebrating ‘100 Years of Wonder.’
    Aaronp/bauer-griffin | Gc Images | Getty Images

    Price hikes are coming to Disneyland.
    While the California-based park’s entry-level ticket will remain at $104, the same price it’s been for six years, other ticket tiers, which are based on demand, will jump between $7 and $12, a 5.9% to 6.5% increase, the company said Wednesday.

    Similarly, the cost of the park’s Magic Key annual pass will increase between 6% and 20%, or $100 to $125 depending on the pass type. These price changes are effective as of Wednesday.
    These price changes come as the Walt Disney Company is already under scrutiny for the cost of its theme park admissions and hotel accommodations, which many consumers believe has become too high.
    Still, the company has sought to offer discounted tickets and hotel stays for those who opt to visit Disneyland during off-peak periods. Last week, Disney announced its kids ticket offer of $50 tickets would be made available on Oct. 22 and can be used starting Jan. 7. Additionally, the company has a hotel offer that can save guests up to 20% starting in January.
    “We always provide a wide variety of ticket, dining and hotel options, and promotional offers throughout the year, to welcome as many families as possible,” said Jessica Good, a Disneyland Resort spokesperson, in a statement Wednesday.
    Much like the airline, hotel and even concert entertainment industries, Disney’s theme parks operate on a demand-based pricing model. That means that certain times of the year are more expensive to visit the parks because more people are trying to visit at that time. Major holidays like Christmas and Halloween, as well as school vacations, are prime examples.

    On the other hand, Disney said there is a period of time in January and February where a family of four — two adults, two children — can visit the park for $308. That’s two $104 adult tickets and two $50 kids tickets.
    But to handle demand, Disney has a tiered ticket system. Tier 0 is the lowest demand, the $104 base ticket price, while Tier 6 is the highest demand and will see an increase of $12 to $206 per ticket.
    The Magic Key program will also get a price bump because of demand. The lowest tier, called Imagine, will cost $599 a year, a $100 increase, Enchant will be $974, a $125 increase, Believe will be $1,374, a $125 increase, and Inspire will be $1,749, a $100 increase.
    Each tier has different access to theme park dates and perks. Disney noted that Magic Key passholders will get early access to the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening and discounts on Lightning Lane passes, as well as the existing merchandise, food and parking discounts.
    Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is not announcing any price changes. Disney’s online ticketing website for those theme parks — Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot — already reflects pricing increases for 2025, which were reported back in February. More

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    China’s Golden Week holiday signals persistent consumer caution

    China’s Golden Week holiday affirmed a trend in more cautious spending, while consumers put greater emphasis on experiences.
    “Low tourism spending per head and subdued services prices highlighted still weak domestic demand and continued consumption downgrading,” Goldman Sachs analysts said.
    “People become more cautious with spending. Also they opt for more affordable options of travel and affordable locations,” Kenneth Chow, principal at Oliver Wyman, told CNBC on Wednesday.

    Passengers line up to check in at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport on October 6, 2024 as China’s week-long National Day holiday draws to a close.
    China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

    BEIJING — China’s Golden Week holiday affirmed a trend in more cautious spending, while consumers put greater emphasis on experiences.
    The seven-day public holiday that ended Monday recorded about 2% less spending per domestic trip than the pre-pandemic level, according to Goldman Sachs analysis published Tuesday.

    “Low tourism spending per head and subdued services prices highlighted still weak domestic demand and continued consumption downgrading,” the analysts said.
    The decline was an improvement from a gap of more than 10% during holidays in the spring, the Goldman report said.
    The Golden Week holiday in China commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1. It is the last public holiday of the year for the country.

    Nearly one-fifth of bookings on Trip.com for the holiday came from users ages 20 to 25, making them the main consumer group, the company said. It noted more than 90 concerts were held during the holiday, and that daily growth in orders for performances and exhibitions grew by an average of more than 80% during the period.
    However, a lack of blockbusters resulted in a drop in box office earnings, to 2.1 billion yuan ($300 million) this year, from 2.7 billion yuan last year, according to state media, citing the China Film Administration.

    Consumers were also more spontaneous.
    Trip.com said nearly 30% of travelers booked travel on the same day, or one day in advance, a 6 percentage point increase from last year. The average number of days customers booked in advance fell to 6 days this year, down from 6.8 days last year, the company said.
    The holiday this year followed a flurry of policy announcements and promises, and a stock market surge. Consumer spending in China has been lackluster since the pandemic due to uncertainty about future income and economic growth.
    “People become more cautious with spending. Also they opt for more affordable options of travel and affordable locations,” Kenneth Chow, principal at Oliver Wyman, told CNBC on Wednesday.
    “People are much more interested in spending on things they can talk about, things they can post [on social media] about, rather than just the big ticket items,” he said. He said such shifts mean brands, including luxury ones, need to focus more on communicating the benefits to potential Chinese consumers.
    “When people are becoming much more sophisticated, the proposition has to change, and whoever is able to adapt to that new trend first will be able to win,” Chow said. “It’s not just about Chinese brands. It’s not just about overseas brands. It’s about who’s going to react first and who’s going to capture the attention of Chinese consumers first.”

    Appliance sales climb

    Christine Peng, head of the Greater China consumer sector at UBS, pointed out Wednesday that Golden Week figures indicated recovery in spending was tied to trade-in policies for appliances.
    Retail sales rose by 9% during the holiday, while sales of home appliances surged by 149.1%, according to state media, citing figures from the tax administration. It did not provide the amount spent.
    “The Golden Week consumption could still suggest a modest recovery versus August, in our view, due to trade-in subsidies (for appliances and autos) and consumption vouchers issued by the local governments,” Peng said. “For example, Shanghai’s retail sales rose 3%, a recovery versus -3% YoY this August.”
    During Golden Week, mainland China recorded 765 million domestic trips, up from both the prior year and before the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
    However, by another measure of counting from the ministry, China had received 782 million domestic visits in 2019. It was not immediately clear whether the figures were comparable.
    The average number of mainland China residents traveling across the border rose to 1.08 million a day during this year’s holiday, up from 1.01 million a day in 2019, according to CNBC calculations of official data.
    Japan, Thailand and the U.K. were among the more popular destinations, according to booking site Trip.com.

    Chinese mobile pay expands

    Overseas transactions by China’s Alipay users surged by 60% during the first four days of the holiday versus the year-ago period, according to the mobile payments operator, owned by Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group.
    Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore were the top destinations for Chinese tourists by transaction volume growth, Alipay said. It noted that rather than shopping, the Chinese travelers also spent significantly on entertainment, food and beverage, services and transportation.
    Foreign visitors to mainland China using Alipay spent more than twice the amount during the first four days of the holiday, versus a year ago, the company said. China has introduced visa-free travel for more countries, while Alipay and WeChat Pay — the two dominant mobile pay apps in the country — have in the last two years made it easier for foreigners to use the apps.
    Hong Kong said that visitors from mainland China visitors averaged 170,000 per day during the holiday, 27% more than a year ago. On Oct. 1, Hong Kong said it received 220,000 visitors from the mainland, the highest since the end of Covid-19 border controls.
    Oliver Wyman’s Chow noted how hotels, especially those in Hong Kong, were adapting to lower prices per night by selling more food or other experiences. More

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    Baidu’s robotaxi unit is exploring expansion into global markets in the ‘near future’

    Chinese tech company Baidu’s robotaxi unit, Apollo Go, is in talks to expand overseas in the near future, according to a source familiar with the situation.
    Regulators in parts of Beijing and cities such as Wuhan — Apollo Go’s largest operating region — have allowed companies to commercially operate self-driving taxis.
    Tesla is scheduled to hold its widely anticipated robotaxi event on Thursday.

    Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles.

    BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu’s robotaxi unit, Apollo Go, is in talks with several firms to expand into overseas markets in the “near future,” according to a source familiar with the matter.
    No details on timing or regions were available.

    Baidu is one of the major operators of robotaxis in China. Regulators in parts of Beijing and cities such as Wuhan — Apollo Go’s largest operating region — have allowed companies to commercially operate self-driving taxis after years of just permitting internal testing.
    Tesla is scheduled to hold its widely anticipated robotaxi event on Thursday.

    WeRide, another Chinese robotaxi developer, in late September announced a deal to integrate its cars onto ride-hailing giant Uber’s platform in Abu Dhabi this year. The statement said the companies did not plan on similar partnerships in the U.S. or China.
    In July, BYD and Uber announced they would develop “autonomous-capable vehicles” for the ride-hailing company’s platform. They did not share details.
    Robotaxi rides in China operated by Baidu and companies such as Pony.ai are generally highly subsidized by the companies to encourage their usage. Local regulation sometimes requires a human staff worker to sit inside the car, meaning not all the vehicles are fully autonomous.

    Baidu said as of late July, Apollo Go had operated more than 7 million robotaxi rides.
    Separately, Baidu on Tuesday announced Rong Luo would no longer serve as its CFO, and instead become executive vice president overseeing the company’s mobile ecosystem unit. Junjie He, former head of the mobile unit, will become interim CFO, the company said. Baidu described the changes as part of a “management rotation.” More

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    SpaceX may receive FAA license for next Starship launch in time for Sunday attempt

    The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX its next Starship license in time for a Sunday launch attempt, CNBC has learned.
    Despite previously expecting that its license review could take until “late November,” a person familiar with the matter told CNBC the FAA’s process has sped up, opening the door for earlier approval.
    SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have been vocally critical of the FAA in recent weeks, alleging the company faces difficulties from “the current regulatory environment.”

    SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, lifts off on its third launch from the company’s Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. March 14, 2024. 
    Cheney Orr | Reuters

    The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX its next Starship license in time for a Sunday launch attempt, CNBC has learned.
    SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have been vocally critical of the FAA in recent weeks, urging the federal regulator to speed up its license review for Starship’s fifth test flight. As recently as last week, the FAA said it did not expect to issue the license before “late November.”

    Despite the ongoing review, SpaceX issued a statement Monday saying that the fifth Starship spaceflight “could launch as soon as October 13, pending regulatory approval.” The company did not indicate whether it expected to receive its license by Sunday.
    But a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday that SpaceX’s seemingly aggressive target is possible because the FAA’s review process has sped up.
    The regulator and partner agencies involved in the process conducted assessments more quickly than anticipated, the person told CNBC, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the final stages of completing a review for the FAA. The person, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the ongoing federal review, noted that it’s also possible any snags this week could take a Sunday attempt off the table and push approval to later this month. 
    In an updated statement to CNBC on Tuesday, the FAA removed its prior November estimate.
    “In mid-August, SpaceX submitted new information for its proposed Starship/ Super Heavy Flight 5 mission. The FAA is continuing to review this information. The FAA will make a licensing determination once SpaceX has met all licensing requirements,” the FAA said.

    The Fish and Wildlife Service referred CNBC to the FAA in response to a request for comment.

    Read more CNBC space news

    On Sept. 10, SpaceX issued a lengthy blog post saying the FAA was delaying Starship’s fifth launch over “superfluous environmental analysis,” alleging that the extended review was “for unreasonable and exasperating reasons” that represent difficulties in “the current regulatory environment” for companies seeking launch licenses.
    The post in part criticized reports that SpaceX violated environmental regulations by using the Starship launchpad’s water deluge system in Texas without authorization. However, SpaceX settled fines levied by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency regarding unauthorized water discharge.
    Reuters first reported the FAA may approve a license as soon as this month but did not specify whether that could come as soon as Sunday.

    An ambitious fifth launch

    The sun sets behind the SpaceX Starship ahead of its fourth flight test at Boca Chica beach on June 05, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. 
    Brandon Bell | Getty Images

    SpaceX aims to push development of its mammoth Starship rocket further with its fifth flight. It’s seeking to build on the progress of June’s fourth Starship test flight — which traveled halfway around the world for an intentional splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
    As part of SpaceX’s effort to make Starship fully reusable, the company plans to attempt to return and catch the rocket’s 232-foot-tall booster.
    After launching and separating from the upper Starship section of the rocket, the Super Heavy booster is expected to fly back to the launch site and land between a pair of so-called “chopsticks” on the tower. SpaceX emphasized that the catch attempt requires “thousands” of criteria to be met, or else the booster will divert from the return trajectory to instead splashdown off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
    “We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right,” SpaceX said in a statement describing the flight.
    The window on Sunday opens at 8 a.m. ET for the fifth Starship launch from the company’s facility near Brownsville, Texas.
    Starship is both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. Fully stacked on the Super Heavy booster, Starship stands 397 feet tall and is about 30 feet in diameter.
    The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program. More

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    After scrapping health clinics for people, Walmart is expanding pet care

    Walmart is opening five more pet services centers over the next month.
    It’s part of a bigger effort by the nation’s largest retailer to capitalize on a high-frequency category that’s popular across customer age groups and to step up competition with specialty retailers like Chewy.
    The big-box retailer, however, shuttered all of its health clinics for people, after saying it couldn’t make the finances work.

    Walmart is opening five more pet services centers after testing the first location near Atlanta. The centers offer vet visits and grooming.
    Courtesy: Walmart

    Walmart shut its doctor offices for people. But the nation’s largest retailer is expanding its pet care business.
    On Tuesday, the company announced it will open five more pet services centers in October and early November. The new locations in Arizona and Georgia will include veterinary care and grooming. Walmart opened its first pet services center last year in the Atlanta area.

    Walmart’s pet category is an attractive growth opportunity because it drives frequent purchases, resonates with customers across age groups and tends to hold up even when customers’ budgets are stretched, said Kaitlyn Shadiow, vice president of merchandising for pets for Walmart U.S.
    Walmart’s pet services centers will have their own dedicated entrance next to a store. They will be under the Walmart name, but staffed by employees of vet care and pet product company PetIQ. The centers will offer routine vet care, such as wellness exams, vaccines and minor medical services, and grooming for cats and dogs.
    Shadiow said Walmart decided to expand after seeing strong visits and repeat rates at its first pet services location. About 25% of customers had never shopped at Walmart for pet items before, she said. And when shoppers went to the store for vet or grooming services, Shadiow said it created a “halo effect” that lifted sales for pet food and other supplies, too.
    “If you think about pet services, the business case is there,” she said. “We are already serving the needs of so many pet parents today, and it’s a great opportunity for us to help do that in one convenient location or trip.”
    Other factors could be motivating Walmart. Chewy and Petco have expanded into pet services as well, with specialty retailer Petco using its stores to become a major vet provider. The services are higher margin than pet food, but are needed more often than other supplies like leashes, pet beds and crates.

    Pet ownership spiked during the Covid pandemic, which led to more household spending on dogs, cats and other animals, and a bigger need for vets. Annual household spending on pets is expected to reach $1,445 per animal by 2026 and $1,733 by 2030, according to a recent survey by Morgan Stanley Research. That would represent a 113% jump in total industry spending from $122 billion in 2019 to $261 billion by 2030, the firm found.
    Walmart has seen other signs of high demand. A subscription to veterinary telehealth provider Pawp was used more than any other limited-time offer for Walmart+, the retailer’s membership program and answer to Amazon Prime, according to Venessa Yates, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart+. Starting next week, it will turn that limited-time offer into a permanent benefit.
    The pet category has also been a way to reach younger and more affluent shoppers, Shadiow said. Gen Z is the fastest-growing segment for Walmart’s pet category, as the group ages into pet ownership, she said. The number of customers shopping the pet category with a household income of over $100,000 grew by 36% year over year, as of the end of July, she said.

    Walmart announces new pet service locations, online vet access and prescription delivery. 
    Courtesy: Walmart

    Walmart announced earlier this year that it would close all of its 51 health-care clinics for people — a sharp turnabout for the company, which it pinned on “the challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs.” The clinics offered lower-priced doctor visits, dentist appointments and therapy sessions.
    Walmart also closed its human telehealth provider, which it had acquired for an undisclosed amount in 2021. It has tested the pet services concept in Dallas, Georgia, where it opened its first health clinic for people in 2019.
    Yet Shadiow said pet care is a simpler and more profitable business. Fewer people pay for pet care through insurance and the centers themselves can be smaller, she said. People want transparent pricing since they often pay out of pocket. Plus, she said, Walmart is a one-stop shop for customers who need related products, such as pet prescriptions or food.
    “We feel a lot more confident in the ability for this to be successful over the long term,” she said.
    — CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.

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    Hard Rock chairman opens the door to a FanDuel or DraftKings partnership in Florida

    Florida’s sports betting market may be about to get a lot more interesting, with Hard Rock’s chairman opening the door to partnerships with commercial sportsbooks.
    Hard Rock has the monopoly on sports betting in the state, winning the exclusive tribal gaming compact following a hard-fought battle against Flutter-owned FanDuel, DraftKings and Penn Entertainment.
    “I would say whether it’s FanDuel or whether it’s DraftKings, we’ve actually developed a great relationship with them,” Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen said in an interview with CNBC at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

    Florida’s sports betting market may be about to get a lot more interesting, with Hard Rock’s chairman opening the door to partnerships with commercial sportsbooks.
    Hard Rock has the monopoly on sports betting in the state, winning the exclusive tribal gaming compact following a hard-fought battle against Flutter-owned FanDuel, DraftKings and Penn Entertainment. The sportsbooks mounted a massive effort in 2021 to get sports betting legalized in the state, but failed.

    When asked about comments made by FanDuel CEO Amy Howe on trying again to get into the Florida market, Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen said he’s open to it.
    “I would say whether it’s FanDuel or whether it’s DraftKings, we’ve actually developed a great relationship with them,” he said in an interview with CNBC at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
    Allen says he’s met with both companies over the past two days.
    “We do recognize that long term, some type of strategic relationship with some of the brands that really have marquee value could be helpful to both of us, and we are receptive to those conversations,” he said.
    At Flutter’s investor day two weeks ago, Howe said she’s focused on three key super states: California, Florida and New York.

    FanDuel and DraftKings declined to comment on the possibility of entering into a deal with Hard Rock.
    Operators have been eyeing the Sunshine State for years. Florida has a bigger population than New York state, which brings in the most sports betting revenue, according to the American Gaming Association. And it has more than 20 professional and Division 1 college sports teams in the state.
    Last December at Seminole Hard Rock, the company marked what it called “a new chapter in Florida gaming,” when it launched sports betting and expanded the casino table games across six Seminole Casinos in Florida.
    Allen declined to give specifics on sports gaming revenue in Florida on the basis that the tribe is a sovereign nation. More

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    Airlines, theme parks, cruise lines warn travelers about Hurricane Milton disruptions

    Airlines canceled hundreds of flights before Hurricane Milton was expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
    Tampa International Airport closed Tuesday morning.
    Theme park operators also said they would temporarily shut some facilities and cruise lines shifted routes ahead of the storm.

    A message board at the Tampa International Airport shows all American Airlines departing flight canceled Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla., due to the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton.
    Chris O’Meara | AP

    Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, theme parks prepared to close and cruise lines shifted routes as Floridians braced for Hurricane Milton’s landfall.
    The Category 4 storm has top sustained winds near 145 mph and is expected to strike Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More than 50 Florida counties are under a state of emergency.

    Tampa International Airport suspended operations at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday and said it would “repoen when safe to do so.”

    Read more CNBC airline news

    Orlando International Airport will close at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines, which has about a fifth of the market share in Orlando, has struck 402 flights from its total Wednesday schedule, according to FlightAware data.
    More than 750 Orlando flights, over 85% of the Wednesday schedule, were canceled, according to FlightAware. Most of the flights in and out of Tampa and Southwest Florida International Airport, which serves Fort Myers, were also canceled for Wednesday.
    Carriers waived change fees and fare differences for affected customers. American Airlines and United Airlines added extra flights out of Florida ahead of Milton’s expected landfall.

    Southwest Airlines employees cover the ticket counters with plastic wrap just before Tampa International Airport was closing due to the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Tampa, Fla.
    Chris O’Meara | AP

    Disney said Tuesday that it will close its Orlando-area theme parks on Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. ET and they will likely remain closed on Thursday.

    “We will consider opening Disney Springs on Thursday in the late afternoon, with limited offerings,” the company said.
    Universal Orlando Resort said Tuesday that Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk will close at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday and remain closed on Thursday.
    Busch Gardens Tampa will be closed Tuesday through Thursday, while SeaWorld Orlando will close Wednesday and Thursday, United Parks said.
    Carnival warned customers that ports in Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami were likely to close and that it would change some routes and destinations to avoid the storm.
    Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.

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    GM ditching ‘Ultium’ name for batteries, tech amid EV changes

    GM will drop the name “Ultium” for its electric vehicle batteries and supporting technologies after spending years promoting the brand.
    The company said the batteries and technologies will remain but the name “Ultium” will not.
    GM spent millions of dollars in marketing and advertising Ultium, including back-to-back years of Super Bowl ads in 2021 and 2022.

    General Motors revealed its all-new modular platform and battery system, Ultium, on March 4, 2020 at its Tech Center campus in Warren, Michigan.
    Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors

    DETROIT — General Motors will drop the name “Ultium” for its electric vehicle batteries and supporting technologies after spending years promoting the brand as it rethinks its EV and battery operations.
    The Detroit automaker confirmed the switch Tuesday ahead of an investor event. Executives used the day to discuss lowering battery costs and tout efforts to diversify battery chemistries.

    GM also confirmed it is on pace to produce and wholesale about 200,000 EVs for North America this year, achieving profitability on a production, or contribution-margin basis, by the end of this year.
    Aside from EVs, GM touted its lowering capital costs and the company’s flexibility to produce both traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines and EVs. Its commitment to EVs comes amid slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles.
    Shares of GM were roughly level aside from a roughly 3% increase during the beginning of the event.

    Stock chart icon

    The change to Ultium comes after GM spent billions of dollars to develop in-house “Ultium” batteries and technologies that the automaker previously touted as “revolutionary” and the ultimate technologies to be able to build a profitable EV business.
    The company said the batteries and the technologies will remain, but the name “Ultium” will not, other than production operations such as its “Ultium Cells” joint venture plants with LG Energy Solution.

    “As GM continues to expand its EV business, the company is no longer branding its electric vehicle architecture, battery and cells, or EV components with the Ultium name, starting in North America,” the company said in a statement.
    GM has been rethinking its EV battery strategy amid changing market conditions and an influx of new, outside executives, including Tesla veterans JP Clausen, who now leads GM manufacturing, and Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery.

    The automaker’s EV sales are growing, but not at the pace the company wanted. It reported a roughly 60% year-over-year increase in EVs during the third quarter, to roughly 32,100 units sold. Still, EVs made up only 4.9% of the company’s total third-quarter sales.
    The 200,00 EV target reconfirmed by GM CEO Mary Barra on Tuesday is down from a previous guidance of 200,00 to 250,000 EVs, which had been trimmed from as high as 300,000 units.
    GM has already started moving away from its original Ultium pouch cells, produced with LG with nickel manganese cobalt, to other battery types and chemistries.
    GM earlier this year announced a more than $3 billion deal to manufacture hard-can batteries, known as prismatic cells, with South Korea’s Samsung SDI, a rival of LG.
    “We’re moving from a single-source, single-form factor, single-chemistry to a multi-chemistry, multi-form factor, multi-supplier strategy,” Kelty told The Information in a report published Monday. “What we’re going to do going forward is really optimize for each vehicle.”

    Will Ferrell will star in GM’s upcoming Super Bowl commercial, an extension of the company’s “Everybody In” ad campaign for EVs.

    The automaker is turning to that optimization strategy after spending millions of dollars in marketing and advertising, including back-to-back years of star-studded Super Bowl ads in 2021 and 2022 for Ultium in vehicles that weren’t available yet for customers to purchase.
    GM is rethinking other areas as well. Rory Harvey, GM president of global markets, including North America, in September confirmed to CNBC that the company was completely rethinking its plans for a second all-electric vehicle plant in Orion Township, Michigan — from production down through the entire supply chain.
    “We always get lessons. We always get learning,” he said in September. “The reason that we’re doing what we’re doing with Orion is the fact that, you know, if you looked at the original gradient of EV adoption, there’s no doubt that, both in the industry and from ours, it was slightly more aggressive than it is.”
    “This gives us the ability to do a stop breath and refocus and say what is appropriate for the customer demands that are out there today?” he said.
    GM currently has one plant in the U.S. that exclusively produces EVs, called Factory Zero in Detroit. The Orion plant was expected to be the second by the end of 2024 before the company delayed those plans by at least a year. More