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  • Tech - News - Tech Companies
  • Updated: January 29, 2021

G.M. To Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles By 2035

G.M. To Sell Only Zero-Emission Vehicles By 2035

General Motors Co. has promised to go green by making all of its global operations and vehicles carbon neutral by 2040.

According to Fortune, this is to include selling only zero-emission models by 2035.

This is in furtherance of the automaker's pledge to abide by emission-reduction goals set by California. Being one of the largest markets for vehicles in the U.S., the state had in September announced plans to ban sales of gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035.

GM had also set a target to achieve company-wide carbon neutrality in 10 years, ahead of rival, Ford Motors.

Latest update reveals that the company’s stock rose as much as 7.4% and traded up 3.1% to $50.89 in New York.

The initiative is part of Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra’s strategy to take on Tesla Inc.’s leadership in electric vehicles and change the Detroit company’s image as a builder of gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing trucks, and SUVs.

READ ALSO: GM Shares Hit Record High, Plans Production Of Flying Cars

Barra already has committed GM to spending $27 billion to build 30 electric vehicles by 2025.

“General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener, and better world,” Barra said in a statement. “We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”

GM will have to convert every model it sells to run on battery power or possibly hydrogen to meet its target. It also aims to lower the price of some electric vehicles to make them accessible to more new-car buyers.

“Our focus will be offering zero-emission vehicles across a range of price points,” Dane Parker, GM’s chief sustainability officer, said in a call with reporters. “We’re going to need to have products that appeal to all of our consumers, products they want, and products that they can afford.”

A big challenge for GM is staying profitable as it transitions to lower-margin electric vehicles. Currently the gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs it’s known for make up the majority of GM’s income.

Company President, Mark Reuss has said the cost of GM’s Ultium battery pack is coming down and its electric vehicles will be profitable.

READ ALSO: Nissan To Convert New Vehicles To Electric By 2030

UBS said in a report published last year that most global carmakers will be able to phase out their carbon emissions by 2040.

“We believe the transportation sector can be almost entirely decarbonized by 2040,” the report said. “Why? New technologies have breakthroughs enabling them to start providing value at a reasonable cost, and saving energy has a feel good factor attached to it.”

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said he has been talking to Barra for about five years and in that time, the automaker’s views on carbon emissions have evolved, gathering pace more recently.

“This is for real,” Krupp said in a phone interview. “Mary Barra is betting the company that this is the next big transition for the industry.”

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