For GM, which is investing $27 billion in EV and AV products through 2025, the Ultium platform and the launches of 30 new EVs globally by end-2025, the new logo is its EV-friendly brand identity
09 Jan 2021 | 5800 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The familiar blue GM logo, which has been around for over 50 years, has given way to the new. As the automotive world changes gear to vehicle electification, General Motors has unveiled a new logo that reflects its complte shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) and is in line with its ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
The familiar blue GM logo, which has been around for over 50 years, has given way to the new. As the automotive world changes gear to vehicle electification, General Motors has unveiled a new logo that reflects its complte shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) and is in line with its comprehensive efforts to accelerate mass adoption of EVs. It is also designed for a digital-first environment.
The new GM logo features a colour gradient of vibrant blue tones, evoking the clean skies of a zero-emissions future and the energy of the Ultium platform. According to the carmaker, "The rounded edges and lower-case font create a more modern, inclusive feel. The underline of the ‘m’ connects to the previous GM logos as well as visually representing the Ultium platform. And within the negative space of the ‘m’ is a nod to the shape of an electrical plug."
“There are moments in history when everything changes. Inflection points. We believe such a point is upon us for the mass adoption of electric vehicles,” said Deborah Wahl, GM global chief marketing officer. “Unlike ever before, we have the solutions, capability, technology and scale to put everyone in an EV. Our new brand identity and campaign are designed to reflect this.”
The company has also released a new ‘Everybody In’ campaign which aims to convey its evolving brand identity as GM transforms itself to deliver on a vision that creates a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. The campaign focuses on three themes:
- Drawing a new generation of buyers and accelerating EV adoption;
- Demonstrating GM’s EV leadership, which includes the investment of $27 billion in EV and AV products through 2025 and the launches of 30 new EVs globally by the end of 2025; and
- Highlighting the range, performance and flexibility of the Ultium platform.
As is known, Ultium will be the foundation for GM’s next-generation EV line-up, powering everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles, including the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq. GM’s Ultium platform will be capable of delivering an EV that can go up to 450 miles / 720 kilometres on a full charge, will power EVs of many sizes, shapes and price points, and is capable of 0-100kph performance in as little as three seconds for some models.
The team of GM designers tasked with creating the new logo considered how to balance the history and trust inherent to the existing design with GM’s vision for the future.
According to Sharon Gauci, GM executive director of Global Industrial Design: “This was a project our team took so personally, not just for ourselves but for the 164,000 employees this logo represents. At every step we wanted to be intentional and deliberate because this logo signifies creative and innovative thinking across the global General Motors family.”
The announcement pof GM's brand-new logo comes only a few days after Korean carmaker Kia revealed its new corporate logo and global brand slogan that signify the automaker’s ambitions to establish a leadership position in the future mobility industry by revamping nearly all facets of its business.