GM prepares to make electrifying mark at CES

General Motors' CES showstopper will be the unveiling of the Chevrolet Silverado EV, but the underlying message to GM's slew of CES announcements and demonstrations is this: The automaker aims to electrify everything.

GM executives believe the company has the manufacturing and technical know-how to extend its proprietary Ultium battery technology, which will power the Silverado EV and the rest of GM's upcoming EVs, to markets beyond retail automotive. The automaker has said it plans to invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle development and launch 30 EVs globally through 2025. By 2035, GM aspires to have an all-electric light-vehicle portfolio.

At CES, GM will provide more detail on specific EV plans, Barra told reporters at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit last month.

"It's one thing to say 30 vehicles globally by 2025, but when you start to say, 'It's this [vehicle] ... it's this year, it's next year, it's one year out,' I think that's going to change the game," Barra said. "We're going to go as fast as we can."

GM will share details on its Ultium EV platform and explain how it can expand to commercial automotive operations with BrightDrop, for example, along with non-automotive applications. BrightDrop, GM's electric delivery van brand, will also have an exhibit at CES with product displays and demos including the EV600 van and the EP1 electric pallet.

GM's electrification efforts are a piece of three themes the automaker plans to highlight at the show: leading the all-electric and autonomous vehicle future; developing a dual-platform, software strategy; and applying technology and manufacturing expertise to addressable markets.

GM will show how it designed its Ultifi software platform to redefine customer experience within the vehicle. The platform is part of the automaker's broader vision to double revenue by 2030 to $280 billion, from its five-year average of $140 billion. Much of that growth will be driven by software and other new businesses, GM has said.

GM also plans to explain how its driver-assist technologies, Super Cruise and Ultra Cruise, are making strides in autonomous driving and will display the futuristic Cadillacs it introduced virtually during last year's show: a halo portfolio autonomous van and the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) concept autonomous aircraft.

GM will continue its virtual CES presence with GMExhibitZero.com, which will include more than a dozen interviews with GM experts.

Late last year, GM began production of its first Ultium-powered vehicle, the highly anticipated 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup. Initial orders were shipped to dealers in mid-December.

The EVs that precede the Hummer — the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV — are powered by GM's previous-generation batteries.

The Hummer launch starts a cadence of EV debuts. The Cadillac Lyriq crossover is due in the first quarter, followed by the Silverado and an SUV version of the Hummer next year.

The first entries in GM's Ultium-powered portfolio are big-ticket vehicles, with the launch edition of the Hummer pickup selling for nearly $113,000. GM has said it plans to build lower-priced EVs soon, including an Equinox-sized Chevy crossover for less than $30,000.