General Motors (NYSE: GM)’s Investment in Mexica
Post# of 173
With the age of the internal combustion engine drawing to a close, the nascent electric vehicle (“EV”) industry has seen fierce competition. While Tesla has emerged as the top EV maker in the world, EV startups such as Rivian are giving Tesla a run for its money. Legacy automakers haven’t been left behind, with most auto manufacturers pledging to electrify their lineups within the coming decade.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) has embraced electrification in a big way, previously announcing that it would roll out 30 new EV models by the end of 2025. Additionally, GM has unveiled plans to electrify all its internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Despite these efforts, however, a recent announcement by the American company has been met with criticism from a U.S. union. GM recently announced that it was going to invest in excess of a billion dollars in a Mexican facility that would be tasked with building zero-emission electric vehicles.
The move has been met with plenty of anger from members of the United Auto Workers’ (“UAW”). UAW vice president Terry Dittes calls the investment in the Ramos Arizpe plant a slap in the face to both union members and American taxpayers. General Motors’ announcement comes shortly after it, in partnership with LG Chem, invested more than $2.3 billion to build a battery cell plant in Tennessee. General Motors has two more factories in the United States. and one in Canada.
According to a statement by Dittes, GM is urging the U.S. federal government to offer subsidies for electric vehicle purchases, yet the company is making major EV investments outside the country. EVs sold within the country with the aid of tax-funded subsidies should be manufactured within the country and employ U.S. citizens, he says. Companies that make use of labor from outside the country should not benefit from subsidies provided by taxpayer money.
Despite these objections from the UAW, GM has already planted considerable roots in the nation and is well on its way towards creating an EV ecosystem in the country. A statement from the auto manufacturer says that GM has a firm commitment to creating job opportunities within the United States. The company also plans to invest in excess of $9 billion jointly with its partner LG Energy Solutions to build battery plants and EV factories in the United Kingdom. These ventures would create an estimated 9,000 new jobs.
The plant in Ramos Arizpe will be General Motors’ fifth manufacturing plant in North America, on top of two planned factories in Michigan and two others in Tennessee and Ontario.
As automakers such as GM ramp up their capacities to make electric vehicles, other companies such as Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX) have opted to invest in complementary technologies, such as in-ground wireless EV charging networks aimed at serving commercial vehicles (trucks and buses, for example).
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IDEX
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer