GM is ramping up the pressure on Tesla, setting up a new energy division to more directly compete.
GM has made no secret of its desire to dethrone Tesla as the top electric vehicle (EV) maker. Unfortunately for GM, one of Tesla’s advantages is its wide portfolio of electric energy tech. The older automaker appears poised to address that disparity with its new division.
According to The Verge, the new GM Energy division will go far beyond merely selling EVs and will also sell batteries, solar panels, charging equipment, and software for both residential and commercial customers. The goal is to create an entire ecosystem that will support its EV lineup and provide a direct answer to Tesla.
Travis Hester, GM’s chief EV officer, compared his company’s approach with smaller, lesser-known companies that are producing equipment to support the EV market.
“They don’t have a vehicle,” Hester told The Verge. “And frankly, they don’t have the dealer network that we have.”
Hester sees tremendous potential to go beyond just selling EVs, instead providing customers with the entire package.
“At that moment, that electrification moment, they have to decide how they’re going to run that vehicle,” he said. “They have to decide are they going to buy a standard charger for their home? Is it going to be a bi-directional charger? Do they want to add stationary storage as a fixed box? Do they want to do solar? And they can go as far into that ecosystem or as little as possible depending on their individual needs.”
Ultimately, Hester says GM Energy is the company’s path forward.
“It’s not a business unit,” Hester said. “It is our business as we go forward.”