GM

While some automakers are pulling back on EVs, others are embracing them. Four years after the launch of the Cadillac Lyriq, the GM-owned brand is selling more EVs than ever. In addition to the Lyriq, there’s also the Optiq, Vistiq, and Escalade IQ. (And don’t forget the bespoke $360,000 Celestiq.) Moreover, three-quarters of customers buying new EVs are conquests from other brands, particularly Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, and BMW.

The automaker plans to start supervised public-road testing on limited-access highways across California and Michigan, with the goal of reaching 200 vehicles this year. According to GM:

GM is ending production of its most affordable EV after the 2027 model year, replacing it with a gas-powered Buick. The decision came less than a year after the automaker rolled out a revamped version of the Bolt with better charging capabilities. Of course, this won’t be the first time that the automaker killed off the Bolt. But given the inhospitable environment around EVs these days, the Bolt’s days were likely numbered. GM has said its priority is profitable autos like the Buick that previously was built in China.

The charge is related to the automaker’s plans to reduce some of its EV production in the face of cooling demand and a less hospitable regulatory environment. It comes a week after Ford said it would take a similar financial hit on its EV investments, and a few months after GM took a $1.6 billion writedown on EVs. When will the EV bloodletting end?

Bloomberg reports that Sterling Anderson is in line to succeed Mary Barra as CEO of General Motors. Anderson was a co-founder at Aurora when he left to join GM as chief product officer. He also led Tesla’s Autopilot program during the crucial years 2015-2016. If he succeeds in his mission to revamp GM’s vehicle software, he could eventually find himself in the top spot. Notably, Anderson recently sat in with Barra for her recent interview on Decoder.

The change affects some 2017 through 2020 vehicles, GMAuthority reports. Apps that affected owners have downloaded won’t receive support, and if they delete an app or do a factory reset, they’ll lose access to that app.

The automaker is citing an expected slowdown in electric vehicle sales, brought on by the expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit. GM is also temporarily 850 workers from its Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, and 750 employees at the Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant.

GM — on the latest Decoder — used the word “cobot” in a transparent bid to assuage workers concerned that the robots operating alongside them will soon replace them. As we learned this week from Amazon’s proposed usage of the friendlier term: human replacement is definitely the plan.

In a filing with the SEC, the automaker says it needs to take the writedown in order to “reassess our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint” after President Trump and Congressional Republicans voted to eliminate the $7,500 consumer tax credit. And there may be future costs — “it is reasonably possible that we will recognize additional future material cash and non-cash charges” — after it finishes reassessing, GM says.

IIHS moderate overlap crash test results for seven EVs show good ratings for the i4, Blazer EV, post-April 2025 Cybertruck, and ID.Buzz, and acceptable for Tesla’s Model 3. (No word on the door handles.)

Chevy came to Monterey Car Week with a pair of sick-looking concepts that will “serve as inspiration to inform Corvette design language for years to come.” The Corvette CX is an all-electric hypercar with a cockpit inspired by fighter jets, while the CX.R Vision Gran Turismo is a track-exclusive hybrid V8 with three electric motors. And later this month, the two concepts will be drivable options in Gran Turismo 7.

According to Bloomberg, the automaker is looking to “lure back” some of the 1,000 workers it axed earlier this year after shutting down the beleaguered robotaxi division. The workers would be rehired as part of a renewed push into personally owned autonomous vehicles, a project that’s being led by ex-Tesla and Aurora executive Sterling Anderson.

The two automakers first announced their collaboration last year, saying they would focus on building EVs and hydrogen vehicles together. Today’s announcement downplays the EVs and hydrogen — they’re “continuing to assess” — in favor of ICE and hybrid vehicles. Four of those vehicles will be for Central and South America, while a fifth, an all-electric commercial van, will be for North America. Hyundai is going to lead the van project, which makes sense given the Korean automaker’s recent success in the EV space.

Get a first look at the new fascia, NACS charging port, and brake lights on the Bolt, with Chevy promising “More this fall.”

The automaker announced today that it will upgrade its Spring Hill, TN factory for the production of low-cost lithium-ion phosphate batteries. The factory is run by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, building on a $2.3 billion investment from 2021. Tesla and Ford are also producing electric vehicles with LFP batteries, which tend to be cheaper and longer lasting but aren’t as energy dense as NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) batteries. Ultium Cells also supplies batteries to Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, and Rivian.