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American manufacturers can “win” against China, but first they need more information about US President Donald Trump’s plans and policies, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Wednesday at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington, DC.
The company has invested tens of billions in US manufacturing, including a sizable chunk toward electric vehicles in recent years, she said, and has examined how to better source components.
But she cautioned that she would need more information before making additional shifts to GM’s business. Barra declined to answer directly when asked if it is GM’s intention to bring more manufacturing back to the US, adding that doing so would also require more information and more stability.
“First of all, I need clarity, and then I need consistency,” Barra told Semafor’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson. “To make those investments and to be good stewards of our owner’s capital, I need to understand what the policy is.”
Barra said she understood the Trump administration’s goal to “create a level playing field” between the US and its trading partners. She noted that although the Chinese automakers are “a formidable competitor,” it’s important to know that Beijing has heavily subsidized the industry.
Despite that fact, she feels GM stacks up “quite well” against Chinese automakers, “component to component, technology to technology.”
The Biden administration last year awarded billions in funding to US automakers including GM to bolster its EV manufacturing and other initiatives.
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Some consumers want EVs, but specific barriers — cost and longevity, chief among them — stand in the way, Barra said. The batteries are still too expensive, and may not last for long drives. Most EV owners also own a car with a traditional combustion engine, she said. And, the cars need more public charging infrastructure investment to be viable.
“I think we’re making a lot of progress,” Barra said, “but I think it’s going to take some time.”
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