The race for electric vehicle (EV) leadership is heating up, with automakers pouring billions of dollars into R&D, production facilities and technology know-how. It is very much a pay-to-play scenario, where deep pockets could produce decided advantages. However, the ROI could take time, even for those in the vanguard.
General Motors is a case in point. The company has been a dominant player in the US for decades and has no intention of letting that dominance slide in the face of e-mobility. In fact, it aims to become the EV market leader in North America by 2025 and has set some ambitious milestones. None of this will come cheap. It recently warned that it would spend more than the previously planned US$35bn through 2025 to speed up new model launch plans. Meanwhile, dividend payments, halted during COVID, have yet to resume. The company is clearly in it to win it, but at what cost?
