GM steps up investment in electric vehicles in attempt to keep up with rivals

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) said it will put the pedal to the metal with its investments in electric and autonomous vehicles, increasing spending plans just over six months after they were initially announced. Looking to catch up with upstart Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), as all major carmakers are, the Detroit group last November said it will fuel the expansion of its range to 30 EV models with US$27bn of spending. READ: GM unveils electric flying Cadillac and earthbound vans for families and deliveries But today GM said it will up investment to US$35bn between now and the end of 2025 to speed up the roll-out of EVs, autonomous vehicles and battery developments, with the aim of selling more than 1mln battery-powered vehicles a year. Some of the extra funds will be used to build two more battery plants in the US, on top of the two that are currently in construction, which would be more than any other rival currently has. The carmaker also raised its earnings guidance for the first half of the year. Chief executive officer Marry Barra said: “We are investing aggressively in a comprehensive and highly-integrated plan to make sure that GM leads in all aspects of the transformation to a more sustainable future.” By increasing spending by almost 30%, GM's investment through to 2025 will be more than the US$20bn outlined by local rival Ford but still pales in comparison with the US$86bn that Volkswagen plans to spend on EV development and other new technologies over the same period. EV specialist Tesla, whose Model 3 was the world's best selling plug-in car of 2020, last gave guidance on capital expenditure last year when it confirmed plans to invest up to US$12bn on new models and battery factories over two years.