Mexican Media Brands
GM Studies Tesla’s Success, Looks for Ways to Innovate Faster
General Motors Co. has set up a small group to assess how the company's EV programs might be threatened by startup electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., Bloomberg News reports.
#hybrid
Share
General Motors Co. has set up a small group to assess how the company's EV programs might be threatened by startup electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., Bloomberg News reports.
In the first five months of 2013, Tesla's Model S EV outsold GM's Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid by 7,500 units to 7,200 units.
Volt sales have since pulled ahead. But GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky tells the news service that CEO Dan Akerson fears Tesla could become a "big disrupter" if GM doesn't pay attention to the tiny company's success.
The Tesla study team is part of Akerson's companywide push to accelerate innovation, according to Girsky. He notes that Akerson also has scrapped GM's "anything goes" research philosophy and is pushing to refocus its R&D on near-term breakthroughs that can be quickly commercialized.
Last year the company reduced spending on such efforts 9% to $7.4 billion. The company also replaced Chief Technology Officer Tom Stephens and R&D head Alan Taub. Last year their jobs were assumed by Jon Lauckner, who also heads the company's venture capital unit, GM Ventures.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Military Trucks, Euro Car Sales, Mazda Drops and More
Did you know Mack is making military dump trucks from commercial vehicles or that Ford tied with Daimler in Euro vehicle sales or the Mazda6 is soon to be a thing of the past or Alexa can be more readily integrated or about Honda’s new EV strategy? All that and more are found here.
-
Will Alcraft Take Off?
“British electric vehicle start-up Alcraft Motor Company has revealed details of its first car, the high-performance Alcraft GT.
-
What the VW ID. BUGGY Indicates
Volkswagen will be presenting a concept, the ID. BUGGY, a contemporary take on a dune buggy, based on the MEB electric platform that the company will be using for a wide array of production vehicles, at the International Geneva Motor Show.