i3 - January/February 2021 - 10

Tech

service, but as a platform. Ridesharing and
delivery are uses of that platform.

Q How are consumers reacting to EVs?
A Consumers really love how fun EVs are to

drive. Our Chevy Bolt EV buyers are among
our most satisfied customers and our biggest
ambassadors. We know customers want EVs
that look great, charge fast and conveniently,
and have the right combinations of range,
power and performance. That's why we're
focusing on all aspects of the EV ecosystem
to accelerate customer adoption.

Q What is the status of charging stations

nationwide? Are there other challenges
to adoption?
A Easy access to charging is essential to
putting everyone in an EV and accelerating
widespread adoption. We're working with
utility companies and charging networks to
make sure charging is easy, fast, and affordable to use at home, work and on the go.
We're collaborating with EVgo to install
more than 2,700 fast chargers in cities and
suburbs in the U.S., making it convenient to
charge your car in the time it takes to run an
errand. Drivers will be able to find these chargers and more than 40,000 others through
our EnergyAssist feature. We also have a
partnership with Qmerit to connect drivers
with at-home charging installers and to triple
the number of charging stations available at
our GM facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Q What are the benefits of autonomous

driving? Is this also a strong focus for GM?

A We believe the societal benefits and busi-

ness opportunities of autonomous vehicles
will be significant, and we intend for GM to be
a leader in their development and deployment. Reshaping cities and the lives of those
who live in them has tremendous societal
implications. Since we believe that all AVs will
be EVs, these efforts will advance our vision of
zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, and help us build a more sustainable and
accessible world. Self-driving cars are real,
and they are going to help rewrite the rules
of mobility.

Q What is the biggest misperception of
self-driving vehicles?

A That they aren't safe or you can't trust

them. However, 90% of crashes are caused

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i3_0121_08-10_Tech_Innovator.indd 10

by human error. AVs will
eliminate human error,
helping save millions of lives
around the world. We're
committed to building safe
and reliable autonomous
vehicles; we believe they will
provide huge benefits to our
customers when it comes
to safety, convenience and
quality of life.

Q What is the role of data in

Over the years
I've learned
that a culture
where employees can bring
their whole
selves to work
is more likely
to foster innovation and
dedication.

connected cars? Are there
new benefits including
safety for consumers?
A With tens of millions
of lines of code in any
given vehicle's systems
today, they are effectively
computers on wheels. We
are bringing to market
technologies and features
that are radically changing
what vehicles can do for
people to improve their
lives. Connecting vehicles
to each other, and in the
years ahead, to traffic
lights and roads around
them so vehicles know how to avoid backups and collisions, and choose the most
efficient routes, will reduce congestion and
increase safety.
At the same time, customers are bringing
more devices into the vehicle, expecting
seamless integration. Part of our job is to
ensure that both our customers and their
data are always safe, secure and private.
Privacy is an extension of security, and we
fiercely protect it.

Q How is the trade situation/tariffs with
China affecting your business?

A China and North America are our largest markets for both global sales and in
terms of their respective manufacturing
footprints to serve those markets. We have
a strong supply chain organization with a
proven track record and robust processes
to continuously monitor risk and respond
quickly, which enabled us to avoid any North
America production disruption during the
COVID-19 shutdown in China. We continue

to assess various " what if "
scenarios as a part of our
ongoing decision-making
processes, we expect no
significant change in our
current strategies.

Q With so much disruption,

where do you see GM in the
next five years?
A Moving quickly on our
vision for a world with zero
crashes, zero emissions, and
zero congestion.
Ultium, our highly flexible global EV platform, is
a game-changer and the
heart of our EV strategy on our path to an
all-electric future. Ultium enables us to offer
all different kinds of electric cars, trucks and
crossovers at a variety of price points. It's a
differentiating technology platform bringing
other companies to our doorstep and it's what
will power our next generation of EVs, which
you'll see over the next five years.

Q Can you tell us anything about your

CES keynote?
General Motors is paving the way for an
entire new way of transportation. Cars
transformed society more than 100 years
ago and gave people freedom, and we're
doing this again. Our all-electric future is
underway right now. GM has the expertise,
design, scale, technology and team to
make it happen and I look forward to showing you more.

2021

Tune in for Mary Barra's keynote
address at CES 2021 at 9:00 AM on
January 12.
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

12/9/20 3:08 PM

https://www.ces.tech/

i3 - January/February 2021

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