The Ambitious Goals of "GM Forward"
At General Motors’ “GM Forward” event today, the automaker talked about where it is taking its EV and automated driving technology. While Ford has been slowly pulling back the covers on its all-new Universal Electric Vehicle platform—launching with the midsize Ford Fathom pickup next year—GM has not talked much about its future EVs beyond its new lithium-manganese rich (LMR) batteries. But now we know a little more about what’s in the pipeline:
GM is following others like Tesla, Rivian, and BMW with a new “centralized compute” architecture: 40% more powerful, 30% less wiring, and 50% faster cellular connectivity. That means less complexity, less mass, and less cost. It launches in 2028 on the Escalade IQ (which means it’s being retrofitted to the current electric truck platform), followed by full-size ICE trucks and SUVs (e.g., Silverado, Tahoe), three-row crossovers (Traverse, Enclave, Acadia), and next-generation EVs.
Rumors of a “BEV-N” next-generation platform surfaced a few months ago (initially expected on the next Equinox EV in 2028), but GM now officially confirmed they are developing a fourth-generation EV platform. The motors have 40% fewer parts, and it uses the new centralized compute architecture. Based on the rollout of the new electrical architecture as noted above, it seems unlikely we’ll see this new platform before 2029.
AI figures into both product development (helping cut vehicle development time in half) and OnStar, with a new OnStar AI assistant launching in the Lyriq next year (and replacing the current Google Assistant). OnStar’s smartphone apps also get refreshed and smarter.
As previously announced, “autonomous highway driving” (apparently targeting Level 4) comes to the Escalade IQ in 2028, followed by full-size ICE trucks and SUVs (e.g., Silverado and Tahoe).
While these announcements move GM in the right direction, there were several topics missing from today’s news:
Hybrids: This remains a notable gap in GM’s lineup
Premium batteries: While LMR batteries are a smart alternative to LFP batteries, most competitors use NMC batteries in higher-end products for better range and performance. Is GM working on updated NMC chemistries? And what about solid-state batteries?
Bolt “family”: GM President Mark Reuss talked about a family of low-cost EVs to replace (and build on) the Bolt a year ago. It’s not clear what happened to this initiative, which could leave GM behind Ford.
800V: Will “BEV4” have 800V capability for faster DC charging? Most competitors have this or are working on it, and Cadillac will be at a serious disadvantage without it. In fact, GM’s news didn’t discuss charging speeds at all, which is a significant advantage that the Chinese already have.
So, a good start – but there is potentially some more work to do …
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