Specialist
Former director at General Motors Co
Agenda
- Volume growth expectations for GM (General Motors; NYSE: GM) by model and engine type, as well as pricing resilience
- EV strategy analysis, including Ultium platform competitiveness
- Margin outlook, discussing differences in ICE (internal combustion engine) and EV margins and cost efficiency opportunities
Questions
1.
What is your outlook for volume growth across brands at GM [General Motors] in North America, focusing on Chevrolet crossovers and trucks and GMC in particular? We can talk through EVs and ICEs [internal combustion engines].
2.
Could you outline the top three drivers behind the stable market share you outlined for GM?
3.
In 2022, we saw a slight growth in market share for some of GM’s brands, in North America in particular. What do you think were the key drivers of this growth in some of the company’s key brands?
4.
To what extent do you see the macro policy around the Inflation Reduction Act driving sales growth in North America for GM?
5.
Do you think the Inflation Reduction Act on its own leads to the growth in EV share or will we need to see EV manufacturers also reduce prices at the same time?
6.
What is your outlook for EV share growth relative to ICEs for GM? What percentage penetration do you think we might see in 2023? How could that increase?
7.
Do you think GM is taking market share from Tesla or is it taking market share from other legacy OEMs in the sector?
8.
Which OEM out of GM and Ford do you think is going to be more successful with its EV roll-out, and why?
9.
GM has had a lot of success with its full-size and mid-size pick-up trucks – it’s a really key segment for the company. How do you think the shift to EVs could impact its market share in those two categories?
10.
What range numbers do you think are required in the truck segment to drive adoption?
11.
In terms of the GM portfolio, you have GMC and Chevrolet as the two key pick-up truck categories. What do you think is a realistic range across the best models within those two brands? You said that 300 miles is required to drive adoption in pick-up trucks.
12.
What is the end goal for OEMs in a pick-up truck segment? Are they looking to build out the range to 400-500 miles to offset any potential impact of heavy loads and cold temperatures?
13.
In the truck segment, we’re hearing about the launch of the Tesla truck and Rivian is another new entrant in the space. To what extent do you think these two OEMs present a risk to GM’s market share in this segment?
14.
Do you see GM’s EV customers being incremental to the business or are these cannibalising ICE sales?
15.
Why do you think GM is not able to bring in incremental growth, so new customers into the EV business? Why is it simply cannibalising?
16.
You mentioned that GM could bring in new customers if it executes well. What does good execution look like?
17.
On the point around fast charging, what do you think is an optimal time in the minds of consumers? How far off is GM from that optimal time?
18.
You said the 400V systems might be a challenge. What do you think is a realistic charge time for 100 miles in those packs?
19.
What do you think we need to see from GM in order to improve the charge time within some of its core models?
20.
The Taycan at Porsche charges at 800 volts. How far off is GM’s technology? When might we see an 800V charging infrastructure in the next 2-3 years?
21.
How do you think the GM battery strategy needs to evolve over the next 2-3 years in order to maximise its potential?
22.
What do you think is an optimal battery chemistry for the brands in the GM portfolio? How do you see that differing through the portfolio of brands?
23.
What do you think will become the dominant battery chemistry – NMC [nickel, manganese and cobalt] or LFP [lithium iron phosphate]?
24.
In terms of GM’s Ultium EV platform, obviously we’re seeing one platform across a range of products. How limiting is having just one platform for multiple models across price points?
25.
What would you envisage would be outside of the bandwidth of the Ultium?
26.
What are your thoughts around the resilience of EV pricing at GM? How resilient are EV prices across the core brands? Pricing is a hot topic at the moment in the US market, given the recent reduction in pricing at Tesla.
27.
As you said, Ford has lowered its prices to compete with Tesla. Will GM have to do the same?
28.
Is there scope to increase prices within the EVs at GM, given the lack of competition?
29.
How important are incentives for EVs, so increasing incentives in order to grow EV penetration?
30.
What is your outlook for EV vs ICE margins in 2023-25?
31.
What do you think is a realistic EV truck margin for a legacy OEM such as GM? Would it be mid-single digits?
32.
What is your outlook for cell costs? How do you think these could trend in 2023-25?
