Why Can’t GM Build Electric Cars? Fires and Cut Corners at Battery Plant

General Motors Co. is racing to fix problems in its electric vehicle business to make good on promises Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra made five years ago. It still has a long way to go.

Fresh off exiting major markets like Europe and India, Barra told GM employees in the spring of 2019 that the company was pivoting its strategy to bet heavily on EVs and self-driving cars. She wasn’t content for the automaker to just survive the new technology-driven era for transportation; it needed to be a leader.