America’s biggest automaker, General Motors (GM), has been rather slow in embracing electric vehicles. Of the 2.55 million vehicles sold last year by GM, only about 20,000 of those were electric vehicles.
With that said, GM seems to be going all-in on electric after the automaker announced plans to phase out gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035. GM said it will invest $27 billion over the next five years to make the transition and plans to become carbon neutral by 2040. The company even gave its logo a futuristic makeover to reflect its electric ambitions.
“With this extraordinary step forward, GM is making it crystal clear that taking action to eliminate pollution from all new light-duty vehicles by 2035 is an essential element of any automaker’s business plan,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
GM’s ambitions fall in line with the recently announced bans from California and Massachusetts on new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks starting in 2035. The auto-manufacturer has also stated that it will source 100 percent renewable energy to power its US sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035, five years ahead of its prior goal.
At The Optimist Daily, GM’s announcements are a true sign that the transition to electric vehicles is gaining unstoppable momentum.
