GM Stock: General Motors Company CEO Makes Shocking Prediction
Good News for General Motors Stock (GM)?
Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), just made an unbelievable forecast that could have huge implications for General Motors stock (GM).
While talking about the future of self-driving technology, Barra said that cars will soon become a “second office.” Even more surprising was the timeline she laid out for driverless tech.
According to Barra, this upheaval in transportation should happen within the next five years, creating multiple new revenue streams for GM stock. She suggests that freeing up commute time makes room for other activities, namely, work, entertainment, or sleep. There will be services or products designed specifically for those activities, and Barra wants GM to sell them.
“I think from an individual perspective what you get back is time,” said Barra about the driverless car phenomenon. (Source: “Your car will become a second office in 5 years or less, General Motors CEO predicts,” Business Insider, December 12, 2016.)
“Time is almost a currency for many people, and so we will be giving back that time and a new experience. So we are not only working on the technology, but we are also working on the experience in the vehicle.”
Few carmakers are talking about these opportunities. Most are still trying to perfect their driverless technology by stacking up the number of autonomously driven miles. But even in this regard, Barra thinks they are taking the wrong approach.
Her argument is simple. A car that drives a million miles on one road is less intelligent than a car that drives 100,000 miles on five different roads. The variety of experience counts, which is why GM is focused on getting its driverless cars into tough driving scenarios.
Barra believes this the best way to perfect driverless tech.
She also wants to bring the technology to market a little differently than most CEOs. Companies like Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) are plugging the driverless tech straight into the cars they sell to consumers. But GM wants to hold off on that for now. They’d rather sell to rideshare companies like Lyft, Inc.
They are already testing out 40 autonomous, fully electric “Chevy Bolts” in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona. This is in part because Barra sees the driverless tech market as a new layer of revenue for GM stock, not one that threatens its core business.
In summary: Mary Barra thinks that self-driving cars are going to offer huge revenue potential for General Motors stock.
