General Motors could expand the lineup of automobiles using its large truck and sport utility vehicle platform and observe big opportunities in over-the-air software updates, President Mark Reuss informed Reuters on Tuesday.
The automaker controls about 70% of the large sport utility market in North America with six models has revealed the redesigned Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the first of a new generation of large SUVs whose profits will help with the development of electric vehicles.
The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, revealed at the arena in which the Detroit Red Wings hockey team plays in downtown Detroit, is 6.7 inches longer than the present Tahoe and can carry about 122.9 cubic feet of cargo. Passengers in the third row of seats get 10 inches of more legroom and a better ride because of a more car-like independent rear suspension.
The new Chevy Suburban will increase by 1.3 inches to 225.7 inches long – making it among the longest passenger vehicles on the market. GM’s big SUVs will be controlled by eight-cylinder gasoline engines or six-cylinder diesel motors.
The vehicles have a recent digital electronic architecture that allows over-the-air software updates and new revenue opportunities, Reuss informed Reuters.
“It’s huge,” Reuss stated of the potential to sell consumers new digital functions or prevent warranty repairs with a software update. Electric automaker Tesla Inc has used over-the-air upgrades as money makers and to repair issues at a low cost.
As the industry shifts toward electric vehicles, profits from large SUVs will help pay for investments, Reuss stated. Those include GM’s prepares to build a new battery plant and offer an electric pick-up truck.
The new SUVs are assembled at a complex located in Arlington, Texas, a state where many of them will be sold. GM has spent $1.4 billion to expand the Arlington operation, and that gives the company the option to produce additional models, Reuss stated.
“We don’t want to invest that much..and not have agility,” he stated.
