GM has said it plans to step up production of its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) models this year in response to soaring global demand for plug-in vehicles.
The pledge formed the centrepiece of the US automaker's latest sustainability report, as it today also outlined progress on renewable energy sourcing and CO2 emissions reduction.
The motoring giant said it aims to launch at last 20 new all-electric vehicle models globally by 2023, having last year outlined its 'zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion' vision. It added that it also planned to partner with utilities, communities and governments to accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure.
GM stressed it is focusing on delivering mass-production of electric, autonomous vehicles (AV) at scale, and said production versions of its Cruise AV would be built in Michigan with a view to making the self-driving car commercially available as soon as next year.
The car company's EV and AV plans form part of its wider strategy to shift towards low emission vehicle offerings and shared mobility services over the coming years. It also follows the firm's partnership with Honda to advance EV battery technology, which was announced last week.
With regards to its traditional fossil fuel models, GM said it had achieved improvements in engine efficiency and lightweighting which have help it reduce fuel use and costs for motorists.
The new report said it shed more than 5,000 pounds in weight across 14 new vehicle models since 2016, saving 35 million gallons of gasoline and 300,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Within its own operations, the company is currently working towards setting a Science Based Target based on 2C of warming by the middle of the century, which could see it become the first major US car firm to do so, following in the wake of Daimler, Honda, Toyota and Renault.
The report also highlights progress on GM's clean energy drive, with the company now using 371MW of power from renewables, which will by the end of the year help meet 20 per cent of its global electricity use. GM's overall target is to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050.
Elsewhere, the report details how GM has reduced the energy intensity of its operations by 15 per cent since 2010, helping to generate $135m in cost savings.
The company said it has already surpassed its 2020 goal to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by 20 per cent three years early.
The update follows GM's announcement in March that all its factories in Canada, Mexico and South America now send zero waste from daily operations to landfill.
Mary Barra, CEO and chairman of GM, said that by embracing the shift to lower carbon technologies over the coming years, the company had the potential to help eliminate more than two billion metric tonnes of CO2 from vehicle emissions while also reducing congestion on the road.
"We are in the midst of a transportation revolution as groundbreaking technologies and evolving customer lifestyles transform our vehicles and how we use them," she said. "We have the right team, technology, partners, manufacturing scale and mindset to lead this revolution."
