Competing in the New World of Work

6 Future-Proof Your Business Model

In January 2021, General Motors CEO Mary Barra shocked the global auto industry by announcing plans to phase out all fossil-fueled models by 2035 and make the transition to an electric-only fleet. She promised to spend $27 billion toward the goal “and to set an example of responsible leadership in a world that is faced with climate change.”¹

At the time of the announcement, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker had only one electric vehicle on the market, the Chevrolet Bolt hatchback. Out of GM’s total global sales of 6.8 million vehicles in 2020, the company sold only 20,754 Chevy Bolts.² But Barra’s team at GM had been slowly moving toward the electric-vehicle future for more than a decade. The time had finally ...