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And China’s decision late last year to require most vehicles sold there to be electric by 2035 is also critical as GM sells more cars in that country through its joint ventures. than in the United States. And Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands have announced that they will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars from 2030.
GM has been talking about switching to zero-emission vehicles for about two years. Last March, he unveiled modular battery technology that he said would cut costs. A few months later, GM said it could reach a point where electric vehicles wouldn’t cost more than gasoline vehicles any faster than expected.
Ms Barra was receiving support and contribution from an unexpected source – the Environmental Defense Fund, which had criticized GM in the past. The CEO had shared a barbecue dinner with the group’s chairman, Fred Krupp, at a conference in 2015, and last fall they were in regular contact by phone and email.
“We were both optimistic about the possibility of reaching common ground,” said Krupp.
In October, GM unveiled an electric Hummer pickup truck, and within one day it had collected enough orders to cover all of the trucks GM planned to make in the truck’s first year.
“It was another inflection point,” said Parker, director of sustainability. “It shows that consumers are really, really excited about owning electric vehicles.”
A few weeks later, Mr. Biden became the president-elect. And in December, GM was meeting with its transition team, Parker said. “Our vision of a zero-emission future fits very well with their vision and goals.”
At the same time, GM signed a pledge, known as Business Ambition for 1.5 Degrees, to fight global warming. In early January, the company was heading towards 2035 as the likely date for the electrical transition, Parker said. On January 12, Ms. Barra appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show and detailed GM’s vision for a zero-tailpipe future, but gave no specific date.
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