Written by Nora Eckert
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors (NYSE:) will seek to allay shareholder concerns on Tuesday that declining demand for electric vehicles and an expected peak in demand for gasoline-powered trucks will create a tough road ahead for the automaker.
CEO Mary Barra and her executive team will emphasize at an investor day in Spring Hill, Tennessee, that profit margins have not peaked in traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, and that electric vehicle sales are increasing, sources previously said.
Investors are also expecting more details about the automaker’s restructuring in China, as well as updates on its autonomous Cruise vehicle operations, which have struggled since an accident last fall in which one of its self-driving cars towed a person.
A slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles has caused several automakers to adjust their plans, including General Motors and cross-town rival Ford (NYSE:), and GM’s messaging on Tuesday is expected to focus less on strong growth and more on stability. .
That would contrast with past years where GM has set ambitious goals to take on Tesla (NASDAQ:), including in 2021 when Barra said GM would double its revenue to about $280 billion by 2030.
While demand for electric vehicles has softened since Barra set that lofty goal, executives are expected to assure investors that profits on battery-powered models are closer than they think, and that rolling out eight updated ICE models between now and the end of 2025 leaves room To improve performance. Profit margins.
Rory Harvey, GM’s global markets president, told Reuters last week that the automaker’s third-quarter sales, which included strong gains in its electric vehicles, were a “positive platform leading into an investor day.”
GM is looking for ways to lower the cost of its electric vehicles, Barra said, and last month the automaker and Hyundai (OTC:) signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to consider ways to “leverage its complementary scale and strengths to reduce costs and deliver a broader range of vehicles and technologies to customers faster.” “
One focus at GM’s investor day will be its Ultium Cells battery technology, which investors will see during tours of battery and electric vehicle assembly operations at the company’s factory in Tennessee.
The meeting will be the first since 2022, after GM postponed the event last year to focus on resolving the United Auto Workers union strike.