What GM's Massive BEV, H2EV Push Will Mean For Everyone

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Yesterday, General Motors announced a massive push towards a future without internal combustion engines, promising to bring two new electric models to market in the next eighteen months, and a total of twenty new battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to market by twenty twenty three.

Today, Ford made a similar move. 

But what does it mean when large automakers like General Motors and Ford -- who have historically shunned electric vehicles -- make big moves toward an electric future? 

Watch the video above to find out, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and support Transport Evolved via Patreon.

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Please watch: "2023 Kia Niro EV: Why You'll Want To Drive This"
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[bugzilla]

As she said, the more competition in the EV world, the better. I just hope GM makes better EVs than they have ICE cars.

[banyantree]

I think we are at a cross roads in the next couple of years where you have to seriously think twice about buying internal combustion - especially if your a consumer who likes to buy new and retain for several years. Competition is good, drives innovation, more supportive infrastructure, more jobs in R&D with cross over into other sustainable industries . . .will be interesting to see net impact on the oil industry . . 200 or 300, 0000 electric/hybrid cars per month has to make a difference on oil demand.

[jgnmtz]

Thanks for your videos..I'm slowly evolving and ready now to get into a EV.. Lost out on several 2017 Nissan Leaf's last week. I'm down for a reservation on the 18' so guess I'm the guinea pig..My first time wish me luck

[Divadosaurus]

I'm still driving my 5 year old diesel crossover. I feel lied to by the entire ICE industry over diesel-gate and the fact that these companies have known since the '70s at the very least what damage fossil fuels have been wreaking on the planet. Therefore my loyalty will be with Tesla as much as possible when my car nears the end of it's useful life and I can retire it. Hopefully by that time the Model Y will be available and affordable to me in this country (Australia). Of course I welcome moves from other manufacturers, but Tesla is the company that made this all possible within this time-frame and I want to support both Musk and the people who invested in Tesla.

[randycarter]

Gm's biggest problem with going to HFC is they're not willing to invest in the required infrastructure. How can you sell a HFC car in a state without a single hydrogen fueling station? Relying on others to create the infrastructure is not going to work. Convincing someone to invest $3million to build a couple of stations with a total of 10 customers is a very hard sell. BEV's are evolving way to fast for any smart businessman to fall for it.

[TRYtoHELPyou]

Great video! Ima go look at some 2016 chevy spark EVs .. great prices... 11k . A year ago? 26k... I love the way the market is going. And i love your channel!!

[cpufreak]

To note, out in California a couple years ago, GM made 1, 000 PHEV trucks. 500 Silverado's, 500 Sierra's. they were only with the V6 though, but it was still a step in the right direction, was it perhaps just a pilot program to see the demand for hybrid trucks? Could there be something to come from those sales later in another model?

[dansanger]

After watching a series of videos about using a Tesla Model X to tow a small camper trailer a few hundred miles from the city to the mountains, I'm more sympathetic to the idea of hydrogen fuel cells for applications like this. Despite its relatively small size, the trailer really killed the range of the Model X, and turned the trip into an exercise in frequent and long charging sessions. One of the problems was that he frequently had to top off the battery to make sure he could make it to the next charger, but topping off a battery is slow because charging rate drops sharply over the last 20%.

[RechargeableLithium]

Nikki, some of us continue to call GM's Volt a 'hybrid car' because there are official definitions for such things. A plug-in hybrid that has a nominal 40 miles of electric range is a PHEV-40. There's also a PHEV-20. The 'EREV/extended range electric vehicle' label was coined by GM's Bob "I hate real EVs" Lutz - the guy behind the Volt - in order to confuse the masses and take a swipe at Tesla, Nissan, et al that were working to sell actual electric vehicles. In addition to their EREV twaddle, GM's also famous for calling cars with electric utilities (brakes, steering, AC) 'hybrids', and ICE cars that stop the engine at stop signs 'mild hybrids'. Just say no to marketing speak designed to artificially fragment the EV world.

Also...GM can say what they like. Today, and in the near future, we don't make enough batteries on Earth to supply all of the EVs automakers are trying to convince us they're really, really going to make this time. When I see an order of magnitude increase in gigafactories under construction across the globe I'll be closer to believing. ;)

[Lovejazz]

Nikki, 2 things that make me wonder..
#1 how many of these newly announced EV's by major automakers really have sustainable energy in mind when comes to making and selling EVs in the future. Or is each manufacturer just copycating just so they can out headline each other? Who's going to produce the batteries and where?
#2 EV's are popular in California and certain other states and in Norway, The U.K. And certain other countries, but as I have said before, I live in middle America (Memphis USA) and if you drive the streets you may see 2 or 3 plugin EVs a day, most charging stations and even the Tesla Superchargers are never occupied (that I have seen when I see it), the question is as many people here on YouTube that are EV followers how do the automakers think that the rest of the worlds ICE drivers will indeed convert to electric? Some may live in an area where there are EVs everywhere but some work has to be done not by just Tesla and Nissan but the rest of the automotive industry to get to these naysayers and " not sure" ICE believers..

[by]

I can't speak to the Bolt, but I found the Volt very disappointing. Currently in my garage there is a gen1 Leaf and a gen2 Volt. The Volt was a compromise to allow long distance trips, but still have a all plug-in vehicles. The problem is that the Volt is a gas hog compared to many hybrids, so you really have to consider your driving. With 2 months of nothing but electric at home and one 1, 700 mile trip I would have save gas and money with most hybrid models. The Chevy app showing mileage completely ignores any electric usage, but even not counting the electricity, my previous Prius used far less total energy for the same distance traveled overall. If the electric usage was counted, the numbers get even worse. The Leaf is more comfortable, has a longer electric range and is more efficient on electricity, so it is the preferred car around home. The Volt was leased to help cover trips, but it only gets about 37mpg at highway driving speeds, so it has likely caused more damage to the environment in my situation compared to other options. The Volt would be a complete disappointment and even embarrassment if I paid for fossil fuel based electricity. Fortunately it's completely solar power charged at home, but it uses more of that per mile then the Leaf. Strictly as a car the Volt has some nice things, but many more negatives. Very uncomfortable, even torturous, back seat, very noisy AC and charging system, inconsistent fit, finish and quality. There are also many things missing that I've come to expect on all cars, even cheap ones, like blind spot mirrors, height adjustable shoulder belts, rear hatch wiper, sunglasses compartment. The locking system is also a pain. I cannot unlock (or lock) the door from the hatch, something I can do from the Leaf. I find that I need to pull out keyfob where it could stay in my pocket with the Leaf. At this point I will likely get a gen2 Leaf rather than the Bolt, but we'll see when all details are available.

[Miata]

Good post. We should encourage any manufacturer who develops and sells EVs.

[FutureReverberations]

When they bother releasing a RHD version of the one EV they currently have, I'll pay attention. Until then... GM? Meh.

[Ericdamwhite]

GM does smart business!! GM fan boy for life.

[robsmitha]

Great video and pretty much agree with everything you say. I suppose fuel cells are better than fossil fuels but it strikes me that using electricity to make hydrogen means we will need more power than if we just make battery vehicles (the key is if there is a breakthrough in battery design that totally kills the fuel cell idea). I can't see the military being bothered about making green machines though unless it gives them some kind of advantage in other areas. Whatever we think of GM's past it is their future behaviour that counts now, fingers crossed they have their heart in the transformation.

[BjorckBengt]

Tesla will probably have many more models soon.
With a base platform, and yes for this type of car it actually is a platform, which manage drivetrain, chassie and brake components, it should be quite quick and easy to add different bodies to it.

[bbcooter]

Nikki: After a couple of months with your New Bolt, how do you like the seats? I sat in a Bolt in the showroom and it felt like I was trying to fit into an Economy Class Airline seat. I understand that the seats are 3 inches narrower than most other small car seats. I did find that the door was easier to get into than my Chevy Volt however.

[DavidWilliams-DSW]

I don't know exactly how it got here, but I saw a GM Volt here in Germany on Monday.

[errolchouest]

I don't see why car manufacturers come with away to run electric vehicles on solar panels and have the battery as a backup when the sun isn't shining brightly and at night.

[David-ygtf]

California just announce a scary mandate a week ago. All cars must be EV by 2023-25, I believe. *GM* will only *sell* EVs *to meet a mandate.*

California regulators want to force people to switch to EV via increase DMV fees/ taxes, gas taxes, car pool lanes fees, parking fees and so on.