GM to kill off petrol and diesel cars by 2035

General Motors has announced it will make all of its light-duty vehicles fully electric by 2035, and says the entire company – including its operations – will be carbon neutral by 2040.

The commitments follow GM’s previous promise to invest $US27 billion ($A35.2bn) in electric and autonomous vehicles over the next five years, and to offer 30 all-electric models worldwide by 2025 – by which time it expects 40 per cent of its US fleet to be EVs including sedans, SUVs and trucks.

However, unlike car-makers like Volvo, which says its entire vehicle fleet will be battery-only by 2030 – when cities including London, Paris and Tokyo will ban combustion engines – GM’s EV-only pledge doesn’t include its biggest, most polluting models including the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up.

The latter is the only GM product officially sold in Australia following the demise of Holden last year, but the new GM Specialty Vehicles network will also release the C8 Chevrolet Corvette late this year and may eventually also introduce the upcoming GMC Hummer EV ute and SUV, and perhaps selected Cadillac models.

To hit its carbon neutral target by 2040, GM says it will source 100 per cent renewable energy to power its US factories by 2030 and global facilities by 2035 – five years sooner than previously promised.

North America’s largest auto-maker says it will also work with others, including the Environmental Defense Fund, to establish the infrastructure necessary to power its EVs and promote their use.

The 112-year-old company, which earlier this month partnered with Microsoft and revealed a new logo to reflect its pivot towards EVs, said it will invest in carbon credits or offsets to account for CO2 emissions it cannot eliminate.

GM’s plan for “setting science-based targets to achieve carbon neutrality” by 2040 and its “aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035” was accompanied by a commitment to the Business Ambition Pledge for a 1.5°C reduction in global warming.

“General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world,” said GM chairman and CEO, Mary Barra.

“We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”

GM’s announcement also comes a day after new US president Joe Biden signed executive orders that will mandate a shift to an all-electric federal vehicle fleet.

Locally, it was welcomed by Electric Vehicle Council, which said the move underscored how out of step Australia currently is with the rest of the world on EVs.

“It’s no coincidence that GM decided to pull out of Australia shortly before making this announcement,” said EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari.

“The rational view for GM to form is that Australia is a low-priority nation for its all-electric future.

“Not only are we one of the only countries not to enforce fuel efficiency standards, we are the only nation proposing brand-new punitive taxes on electric vehicles instead of incentives.

“The unimaginative and cynical approach our politicians have taken to electric vehicles in recent years means Australia is being left behind as the rest of the auto industry zooms ahead.

“On current policy settings we are being left behind as the world accelerates toward electric vehicles.”

Earlier this week, the New Zealand government announced plans to reduce CO2 tailpipe emissions by 40 per cent by 2025 as part of a suite of measures designed to help it achieve its goal for the entire country to become carbon neutral by 2050.