Legacy automakers like General Motors (GM) have been pulling back on their electric ambitions lately, but those ambitions are still in place. In fact, GM is moving its BrightDrop line of electric commercial vans to the Chevrolet brand, which is expected to raise sales and make the vans more accessible overall. Investors were reasonably happy about this, sending shares up around 1.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
Previously, BrightDrops could only be found at a comparative handful of dealers. But by making them Chevrolet vehicles, they can be had from Chevy dealers all over North America, which includes over 500 such operations just in the United States.
While there is still plenty of doubt surrounding the use of electric vehicles—especially after last winter when so many of them were largely crippled by the cold—opening up the floodgates by making it a Chevrolet brand should open it up to the largest potential pool of buyers.
Battery Troubles
Meanwhile, in an odder development, General Motors is delaying production starts at a battery plant in Indiana. The New Carlisle plant was set to start production in 2026, but now, it will be delayed until 2027. The delay was attributed mainly to “market conditions,” noted a report from television station WNDU, which is located in the area.
Yet, GM also finalized a joint venture with Samsung that would see the New Carlisle plant get funded to the tune of about $3.5 billion. Electric vehicle sales are on the rise, but there are concerns; the cold weather is certainly one, but so too is an overall lack of charging infrastructure and higher average prices, a particular problem in an inflation-driven era.
Is GM Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on GM stock based on 12 Buys, two Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 50.7% rally in its share price over the past year, the average GM price target of $57.23 per share implies 15.07% upside potential.
