EuroWire January 2020

Transatlantic cable

Unconfirmed reports suggest that GM is considering using its Hummer brand. Mr Fiorani described Hummer as “a still strongly recognised brand name. Putting a Hummer badge on anything is a great idea for General Motors because half the marketing is already paid for. Making it environmentally friendly is just icing on the cake.” General Motors’ previous entrants to the market – the electric hybrid Chevrolet Volt and all-electric Bolt – failed to attract enough interest to generate a profit. GM’s latest programme, named BT1, includes an electric pickup for the GMC brand and an electric SUV for Cadillac, both due in 2023. In the meantime, GM plans to begin low-volume production of the first BT1 model, a pickup but under a different brand, in late 2021. A performance variant of the pickup is expected in 2022, followed by an electric SUV in 2023. Vehicles in the BT1 series will use a new purpose-designed electric vehicle architecture, including a ‘skateboard’ chassis that bundles electric motor and batteries. General Motors president Mark Reuss said in June 2019 that the new EV architecture will be highly flexible, and adaptable to a variety of body shapes, sizes and drive models. Expected to achieve full production by 2024, the plant could be shipping 80,000 vehicles a year. Mr Fiorani anticipates that the GM electric truck will sell at over $90,000, with other models exceeding $100,000.

NJFX’s CLS campus will offer access to four subsea cable systems to Europe and South America and seven independent US fibre-based backhaul providers. Customers can access points of presence in 15 countries across central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The Telxius CLS campus in Virginia Beach includes the Telxius facilities at the MAREA and BRUSA CLS, and connects directly to main data centre campuses in Ashburn, Richmond and Phoenix.

Auto industry

GM eyes a move into pickups and SUVs General Motors is said to be planning a range of premium electric pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The programme is at the centre of a $3 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, and part of a wider investment programme across GM’s US plants. The plans were revealed by the United Auto Workers union, which has brokered a labour deal with the company. “It makes perfect sense to hit the high end of the market in order to generate some revenue that might actually turn a profit,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at Auto Forecast Solutions, who went on to suggest that GM is following Tesla’s lead by starting in the electric vehicle sector “at the high end”.

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January 2020