General Motors has announced that it is going to discontinue all of its fossil-fuel cars, placing the focus exclusively on the electric cars.
GM recently launched their first mass-market electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
"General Motors believes the future is all-electric", GM executive Mark Reuss said on a conference call earlier today.
In addition to the cars battery electric, General Motors has also confirmed to want to continue the development of hydrogen vehicles.
SURUS could be used as a zero-emissions delivery vehicle, truck or even ambulance, claim GM. Although there are ongoing investment plans for hydrogen fueling stations, the numbers are still minimal, which in turn limits the relevance of the technology to the mass market.
Like other manufacturers, GM is also thinking about the possibility to drop internal combustion engines for good, but it hasn't set a clear date for it.
GM said that it was approached the "zero emissions future" through a "two-pronged approach to electrification".
That low costs can make electricity a more affordable power solution for a heavy-duty vehicle, he explained, which is why Meritor is now developing a platform of electric drive axles and suspensions. It's not exactly clear how much oil demand could be displaced by a dramatic increase in electric vehicles over the next 10 years. Investors have bid up shares of Tesla Inc., pressuring traditional vehicle companies, but the Silicon Valley electric-car maker consistently loses money.
"On the BEV side, we have launched the Bolt here - we were first to market with an electric auto with usable range - we believe that the future will be heavily electric".
The announcement means GM will taking more direct aim at Tesla going forward.
General Motors announced their strategies on Monday to launch 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023, part of a long-lasting push to an "all-electric" fleet as governments internationally welcome fuel efficiency. It is aiming for an all- electric future, but it admits it is years away. The company did not confirm that the concept models would become production models, but said it would focus on the immensely popular crossover and SUV segment.
GM plans to begin producing fuel cell vehicles in 2020 at its Brownstown Battery Assembly plant south of Detroit, Autoweek reports.
EVs remain just a sliver of US sales and demand largely is regulatory-driven, but GM expects mainstream adoption of the cars soon. China, Britain and France all have plans to eventually ban gas-powered vehicles.