Connect with us
tesla-executive-ford-board-of-directors tesla-executive-ford-board-of-directors

News

GM becomes top automaker in the US, but its EV sales lag competitors

(Credit: General Motors)

Published

on

General Motors (GM) has announced its Q4 auto sales, showing that it has become the top automaker in the United States for 2022.

As General Motors has quickly fallen behind traditional and up-and-coming rivals alike regarding EV sales, specifically Tesla, Hyundai/Kia, and Ford, it has moved towards more electric models and production. As the company has become the largest auto seller in the United States, it has finally begun its electrification process with more gusto.

According to GM’s press release, the auto group sold 16,108 Chevrolet Bolts/Bolt EUVs, 86 Cadillac Lyriqs, and 72 GMC Hummer EVs. And while the company’s two newest offerings, the Lyriq and the Hummer, were far from volume sellers, its Chevy Bolt is quickly becoming the “EV of the people” as it is now one of the most affordable and popular offerings on the market in the U.S.

Other achievements noted on GM’s press release include becoming the #1 automaker for customer loyalty, maintaining its rank as the #1 pickup truck maker (combining sales of its pickup truck offerings) for a 9th straight year, and several achievements from its EV van subsidiary Brightdrop. The electric van maker increased its fleet sales by 101% in Q4 alone, marking the best year for GM commercial sales since 2006.

Advertisement

Overall, GM brands sold a combined 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2022, 623,261 of which were sold in Q4. The lion’s share comes from its popular Chevrolet brand, which sold 413,560 units in Q4, followed by GMC, which sold 143,645 units, Cadillac, which sold 39,135 units, and Buick, which sold 26,921 units.

GM also included details on its electric vehicles moving forward. “General Motors is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all,” the press release begins. “At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which will power everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles.”

The press release concludes the electric section by stating, “GM plans to build on this momentum in North America in 2023, growing EV market share with nine EV models on sale, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, which was the bestselling mainstream EV series in the third and fourth quarter.”

GM plans to bring three new EV models to the United States in what it calls “the industry’s most popular segments.” This includes the Chevy Silverado EV pickup, the Chevy Equinox EV SUV, and the Chevy Blazer EV SUV. Furthermore, GMC will introduce a parallel full-size electric pickup, the GMC Sierra EV, while Cadillac will continue to electrify with its most expensive and luxurious model, the Cadillac Celestiq.

Advertisement

As General Motors takes a new position at the top of automakers in the U.S., some argue that they gain a unique responsibility to expand access to electric vehicles to the masses as quickly as possible. And while the company is introducing a series of new vehicles that average consumers can be excited about and even afford, now is the time for the General to put up or shut up.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

Advertisement
Comments

Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

Published

on

Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

Advertisement

Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

Advertisement

Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

Advertisement
  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

Published

on

Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

Advertisement

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Advertisement

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

Advertisement

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”

Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

Advertisement

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Advertisement

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

Advertisement
Continue Reading