cars

GM mulls expanding Corvette line with crossover, report says


General Motors is working on a strategy to build at least one new electric vehicle inspired by its Corvette sports car, potentially expanding the brand from a single performance model into a family of vehicles, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. If the plan is approved, the most likely model to emerge later this decade would be a marriage of a crossover and a sports car.

The automaker has toyed with the idea of building different types of vehicles with Corvette styling and performance in the past but never took the plunge. Purists worried about muddying the image of a vehicle with legions of die-hard fans and owners.

GM has designers working on several Corvette-brand concept vehicles that target a wider range of buyers, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plan has not been publicly unveiled. These seek to blend Corvette’s reputation for high-performance driving and rakish styling with creature comforts such as more interior room and storage, the people said.

A GM spokesman declined to comment.

A Corvette crossover could go on sale as soon as 2025 but probably after that, one of the people said. That would follow similar efforts to cash in on renowned nameplates by several other automakers who’ve expanded their niche brands beyond core vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. recently launched an electric crossover called the Mustang Mach-E sporting its iconic pony-car name. Lamborghini debuted an ultra-luxury utility vehicle called the Urus in 2018, and sibling Volkswagen Group sports-car brand Porsche has sold more utility vehicles than sports cars for years. The Corvette model GM is most likely to build has a similar profile to the Mach-E and Urus, the people said.

GM plans to sell an electric pickup under the Hummer brand once known for SUVs. Ferrari has expanded its lineup and now has a market value of about $42 billion.

Any addition to the Corvette line would be a pure battery-electric vehicle, one of the people said.

GM CEO Mary Barra has taken a series of steps recently to make electrification a hallmark of her tenure. Barra pledged in November to boost investment in EVs by 35 percent to $27 billion over the next five years. And she previewed a slew of luxury and commercial EV models at CES, the former Consumer Electronics Show, this week, sending GM’s stock to record highs.



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