(pensive music)
- [Mike] This is the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ.
Not only is the LYRIQ General Motors'
first all-electric Cadillac,
the vehicle represents the beginning
of a major strategic shift for the company.
- Cadillac needs to change.
- [Mike] From a manufacturer of gas-powered vehicles
to an automaker with an all-electric fleet,
built on what GM is saying
is a revolutionary new battery system.
- Because when it comes to this all-electric future.
- Nobody. - Nobody.
- Nobody. - Nobody will be left out.
- And that changes everything.
- America's auto industry
has long known that the single biggest barrier
to widespread electric vehicle adoption is battery cost.
The theory goes that the companies
that can bring down their battery prices
will be able to create more affordable EVs.
And therefore, stand a better chance
of being competitive in the race for America's EV market.
And General Motors' president Mark Reuss
says his company is in a position
to win that race
with its new battery system.
You guys have been clear
that you're gonna need a ton of battery capacity.
- I think the battery is, for now,
at the core of cost.
To vertically integrate that
and to actually develop our own chemistry
is a competitive advantage.
- And that's what's brought me here
to GM's test track in Milford, Michigan.
When it first opened in 1924,
the Milford proving grounds
was the industry's first automobile testing facility.
Today I've come to this 4,000-acre track
to ride along in a test version
of a vehicle that GM says
will play a pivotal role in its future.
Let's check this thing out.
This LYRIQ isn't quite ready for the showroom.
What you're seeing is a model still under development,
but with the vehicle's launch date approaching next spring,
Reuss offered to give me
an exclusive behind-the-scenes look.
So let's talk about how important the LYRIQ is
just for GM broadly.
This is the first fully electric Cadillac,
almost 120-year history, right?
That's a big deal.
- First is first.
This is the first no-kidding mainstream transformation
of Cadillac and the company.
It's all happening with this car.
- [Narrator] It's a reflection of what's possible.
- [Mike] In January, General Motors set 2035
as the target date for when it hopes
to complete its transition to EVs.
Currently, 98% of GM sales
are vehicles that run on fossil fuels,
and the company's bestselling cars
are large pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles
that are among its least fuel-efficient.
GM's brands, Chevrolet, Buick,
GMC and Cadillac have loyal followings
but it isn't clear if those buyers
or new ones will follow GM
into its EV future.
(upbeat music)
GM has also lagged behind in a market
where two competitors, Tesla and Ford,
are already doing well with new upscale SUVs.
- [Narrator] It's more than cutting-edge technology.
It's the spirit of it.
It's a Mustang.
- Do you think this is a Litmus test?
If this car turns out as good as you think
and expect that it will,
should we see that kind of acceptance
for a car that doesn't have a Tesla badge on it?
- I think so.
We made the investment across the whole portfolio.
All the engineering, all of the component sets are Cadillac,
and I think people are gonna see that.
And they're gonna see it as the tip of the technology spear.
- [Mike] GM has a long history
of innovation in the EV space,
dating back to 1912
when the company built electric trucks
with lead acid, and nickel-iron batteries.
In the mid-1990s, GM developed the EV1,
which was the first mass-produced electric vehicle
in the modern era from a major automaker.
The car could only be leased in a few cities,
and GM abandoned the model after a few years.
(car whirring)
The modern race for EV dominance
didn't really begin until about 15 years ago
when Tesla arrived on the scene with its Roadster.
- I'm really excited by the fact
that we've got a zero-emissions sports car
that can go head to head
with a Ferrari and a Porsche, and win.
- [Mike] In 2010, GM helped pioneer plug-in hybrid EVs
with its compact Chevy Volt.
- General Motors is getting back into the battery business.
- [Mike] The Volt was marketed
as a practical and affordable hybrid
but was never a big commercial success.
GM didn't enter today's EV market until 2016
when it released the Chevy Bolt.
- This is truly an EV for everyone.
For most people,
this can be their everyday driver.
- [Mike] The Bolt offered more than 200 miles of range
for the relatively affordable price
of $30,000 but sales have lagged behind Tesla,
and recently the Bolt has become a costly headache for GM.
This August, the company expanded a previous safety recall
for a fire risk related
to lithium ion batteries supplied by Korea's LG.
The recall covers all of the 142,000 Volts GM
has built at an estimated cost of $1.8 billion.
- Those are very serious things that happened.
If you're putting the customer at the center,
like we do, of safety,
and if we have a problem, in this case
in a supplier who is making the sale for us,
we bring the bare General Motors technical expertise
to go in and solve that,
and make it right for the customer.
- Today, the US EV market
still makes up only about 3% of all car sales.
And Tesla, which sold about two of every three
all-electric vehicles purchased in 2020,
remains the sector's dominant player.
But other automakers' commitment to EVs
has intensified in the past year.
More than a dozen new models
are set to arrive in US showrooms this year
as startups like Rivian,
and established automakers like Ford and Volkswagen
show the results of billions in technology spending.
Just in the last six to nine months,
we've heard a lot of announcements
from some of your rivals getting into the battery business.
And everyone's kind of reading
from the same playbook now.
So what's gonna separate the winners from the losers?
- I think until you get dedicated platforms for EV
and not derivative scarred architectures
that carry the inefficiencies
of an internal combustion engine
into an EV platform is one of the key differentiators.
- [Mike] Until recently, many EVs
were built on car platforms originally developed
for gas-powered or hybrid vehicles.
But because the mechanical layout
of electric cars is so different,
that has meant that many EVs have been constrained
in their design.
GM, which is America's largest automaker by sales,
is betting big on its new Ultium battery system.
- [Narrator] Fewer wires within the pack allows room
for more batteries,
helping extend charging ranges.
- [Mike] The technology uses a different chemistry
and design than the early GM battery systems
on the Chevy Bolt and Chevy Volt.
Automakers are now transitioning to EVs
with dedicated EV platforms,
like GM's Ultium system.
While expensive, these platforms offer
more design flexibility
without some of the inefficiencies of past EVs.
- With cars like the LYRIQ here,
we're gonna have over 300 miles of range.
We're gonna have the ability to charge very quickly.
That's the kind of flexibility
that gives a competitive advantage
if you have the best chemistry
and you have it vertically integrated on scale.
And that's what we're doing.
- [Mike] Today, many electric car owners use their EVs
as a secondary vehicle
because charging times limit use on longer trips.
But Reuss is confident the LYRIQ,
and other future GM electrics
will mark the beginning of a sea change
in how drivers approach EVs.
- If you're offering things that are $10,000 more
on a vehicle that isn't as functional
and can't be a primary vehicle,
and you don't know
how to get that kind of charge time on it,
that's kind of a no-go.
The whole mission was to get people
to consider it as a primary vehicle,
and then you see things really start to change.
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