GM And Waymo Increase The Competition In The EV and Autonomous Cars Sector

General Motors is expanding its spending on electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous cars to $35 billion over the next four years, while Alphabet’s self-driving car company Waymo raises $2.5 billion in its latest investment round. The two companies intend to compete with some of the leading names in the EV and self-driving vehicles sector.

GM raises EV and autonomous car spending

America’s largest automaker General Motors is in a race to close the gap in the electric vehicle sector and catch up to the likes of Tesla. For this reason, the company announced that it is raising its spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025. This latest development represents a 30% increase from its 2020 plans.

Per the company, the extra funds would be used to expand GM’s rollout of EVs and boost the production of its battery and fuel cell technologies. GM intends to build two new battery plants in the United States in addition to two that are currently under construction.

The extra investment would allow GM to catch up to industry leader Tesla and fight for leadership in the industry against the likes of Volkswagen. The company projects to sell over a million EVs annually by 2025.

GM’s stock price is performing excellently at Wednesday’s pre-market trading session. It is currently up by 1.38% and could rise further once the market opens. GM CEO Mary Barra said the move to electric vehicles is to ensure that the company transforms to a more sustainable future.

Waymo raises $2.5 billion in latest funding round

The autonomous vehicle industry should expect more competition after Google sibling company Waymo announced earlier today that it had raised $2.5 billion in the latest funding round. The funds would be used to advance its autonomous driving technology and grow its team.

The self-driving car industry has struggled to hit the ground running as adoption has been low so far. However, Waymo expects to turn things around and achieve the desired growth. So far, Waymo’s delivery unit, Waymo Via, is being used by freight partners and delivery clients like UPS to deliver goods. The company is already using its autonomous vehicles as a ride-hailing service in Phoenix.

Alphabet Inc.’s stock price is down by 0.048% at Wednesday’s pre-market trading session, which might suggest the market is not so thrilled about the Waymo progress.