GM's President Just Wants 'A Level Playing Field' Against Chinese EV Companies As Legacy Automaker Launches Tesla Model Y Challenger

Legacy automaker General Motors Co GM wants a level playing field against Chinese EV makers, as per company President Mark Reuss.

Taking On China: China’s lower-priced products might force the local players out of the market, Reuss told InsideEVs at the Chevrolet Equinox EV launch event near Detroit earlier this week.

“There are strategies where folks will get into a price war and not make money, but try to price things out of markets,” Reuss reportedly said. “It’s not even [China’s] supply chain, it’s their pricing strategy. We just want a level playing field to be able to price and make a profit and deliver value to our customers.”

Several Chinese EV players, including BYD Co Ltd,  have stayed out of the American market owing to high tariffs and tensions between the two countries. Earlier this week, the Biden administration doubled down and further increased tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, quadrupling it from the previous 25%, and ensuring the foreign EVs stay out for longer.

Competition Back Home: General Motors sold 16,425 electric vehicles in the U.S. in the first three months of 2024, marking a drop of 20.5% year-on-year. The drop is largely due to the 64.3% year-on-year drop in sales of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles which the company discontinued in late 2023.

However, despite the production halt, Bolt was the best-selling EV for the company in the quarter, seconded by the Cadillac Lyriq. EVs, however, contributed to merely 2.8% of the company's total vehicle sales in the country which touched 594,233 units in the quarter.

The company, however, is looking to launch several EV models this year. On Tuesday, it launched the Chevrolet Equinox EV with an EPA-estimated range of 319 miles and a starting price of $43,295, close to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y SUV.

The base Equinox EV LT will be available for ordering later this year at an even lower starting price of $34,995, the company said, putting it at a much more appealing price point than all of Tesla’s current lineup, including its cheapest Model 3 sedan.

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Photo courtesy: GM