GM's EV strategy is in full force despite dip in US EV demand
General Motors (GM) shares are trading at a 52-week high as the company remains committed to its EV strategy. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, GM CEO Mary Barra affirmed the company's commitment to the strategy, saying, "We will be selling more EVs in this country than anyone else, including Tesla (TSLA)."
Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi, who spoke with Barra, joins the Live show to share insight into his conversation and how GM is poised to carry out its strategy.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino
Video Transcript
- Shares of GM are up 31% in the last year, trading at a 52-week high as the auto giant remains committed to its EV strategy. GM CEO Mary Barra telling Yahoo Finance that it's one of the most important priorities for GM that they need to execute on for shareholders over the next few years.
Her comments come as demand for EVs do wane a bit weighing on startups and legacy automakers alike. Joining us now in the Yahoo Finance newsroom, our very own Brian Sozzi.
And that was so interesting, great access, a different look that people that viewers don't typically get here of GM CEO Mary Barra. Talk to us just about what you've learned. We heard Barra saying that this is a critical year for GM, and they're playing here to really push to better position the company for the future.
BRIAN SOZZI: Well, two quick shout outs. First, thank you to the General Motors team and Mary Barra for doing this. I assure you her gig is not to spend a whole day with me taping interviews. So she is a busy person, so thank you to her. And of course, thank you to the finance team. The work this place is doing is absolutely mind blowing.
But nonetheless, very important point I think in towards the end of that feature on the valuation on General Motors, and people wonder, well, why is the stock trading about five times forward earnings? The market is hitting new records, most other stocks are trading over 20 times. It's because of what I saw in that General Motors factory.
This is a company, and Ford for that matter, undertaking a major transition to electric vehicles, and to spend the day in these factories to see how intricate and how much complexity is involved in doing this since you've been making gas cars your whole entire life. To change production facilities, to retrain workers, it's going to weigh on profits.
But General Motors is, I think, doing a lot of things they need to be doing to make this transition a profitable reality. They're cutting expenses. I think they've designed their cars better to make these more profitable EVs over time. They're starting to roll out more EVs, so they're making these things at scales which should bring costs down, but overall, in this couple of my takeaways for General Motors, as people investors are digesting this.
And lastly my point is this-- Mary Barra remains the right leader for this pivotal time for GM, and our research on Barra going into this really, she started working at a Pontiac plant inspecting fenders at the age of 18 following in her father's footsteps. She has the engineering chops, she has really incredible respect of most if not all the teams at General Motors, so again, really fascinating story for GM.
- Did she say something about taking a break towards the end?
BRIAN SOZZI: She is not taking any breaks. For her, I think she finds time to unplug, Madison, with her family. She made a point that despite the high pressure cooker nature of her job, she has always found time to make the appropriate time for her family. But look, I mean, like with any CEO gig, I mean, these are 24/7 jobs and this is a very, very difficult job, especially for a company or a leader like GM when you're trying to just change. Look at those facilities how intricate--
MARY BARRA: They love the shot of the two of you working together--
BRIAN SOZZI: And what you didn't see off camera there is the new $300,000 Cadillac Celestiq, and it's just a bespoke car being built by hand. Who else is doing that in auto land? It's just phenomenal. This is a company I think that is very focused on taking their fight to Tesla.
And lastly, I should mention this-- go watch the extended cut over on YouTube. What that essentially means, a little more Sozzi, and a little more Mary Barra extended cut on YouTube. There you go.
