General Motors has affirmed that it will make a comeback in Europe with electric vehicles and a “non-traditional” strategy. The report that Jaclyn McQuaid had been named President and CEO of GM Europe was how the news manifested, as per Electrive.
“European customers are switching to electric vehicles at a faster rate than anywhere in the world, and GM is investing $35 billion through 2025 in electric and autonomous vehicle technology to be a major driver of our industry’s transformation,” said McQuaid.
“Our flexible Ultium battery platform and the breadth and depth of our EV portfolio enable GM to offer customers in Europe a variety of products and services to support their lifestyles while also contributing to a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” she promised.
Non-traditional mobility startup plans
On November 1, the veteran GM executive started her new position in Zurich. McQuaid will spearhead GM’s transition of its European operations into “a nimble, non-traditional mobility startup with an all-electric vehicle portfolio at its core,” according to Shilpan Amin, president of GM International.
In November last year, GM asserted that Europe offers an ample opportunity for the US-American automaker as the world’s second-largest and fastest-growing EV market.
At that time, Mahmoud Samara was Cadillac’s vice president of the North American market. She was given the duty of getting operations ready to resume in Europe. As she left GM for personal reasons, she was replaced by McQuaid.
Amin stated: “Throughout her 22-year career at GM, Jaclyn has demonstrated a laser focus on the needs of our customers and has a proven track record of successfully leading global vehicle programs providing her also insights into the European markets – key attributes that will be critical to our success in disrupting mobility in the region.”
GM also stated then that its extensive line of EV and AV vehicles would soon be available on the market. It was followed by Bloomberg’s report that GM was looking into both conventional distributors and “mobility startups” for the sale of its electric vehicles.
Unfortunately, the automaker has not spoken much about these new plans up to this point, other than the fact that they feature an unconventional transportation strategy centered on electric vehicles.
Based on the most recent confirmations, electric vehicles built on GM’s Ultium platform are already planned. However, the electric cars that GM plans to introduce in Europe have not yet been made public.
At least, it appears that GM will offer the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq first based on the fact that Cadillac Europe issued the GM press release.
