Try To Win $10,000 By Naming GM’s Upcoming Folding E-Bike
Most GM green mobility focuses on China, leaving Europe and the US with gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup truck commercials. However, the company also recently released a new approach to a greener future in the West, a coming e-bike and a naming contest for it.
You Can Win $10,000, Simply By Naming The GM Folding E-Bike
I always felt GM should have taken a similar strategy as IBM did. Get rid of the manufacturing and focus on the service. In IBM’s case, it was a logical choice. But for a carmaker, switching to service only is foreign territory. GM has a lot of might in its manufacturing power and its global presence, now streamlined to a few brands. However, most of its sales are still gasoline SUVs, CUVs, and pickup trucks, as with other major OEMs. How much is it really focusing on its electric mobility path, including the addition of folding electric bicycles?
When you are one of the top car manufacturers in the world witnessing an ever-changing landscape of reluctant buyers, what should you do? Ideally, you take scope of what works and phase out what doesn’t. GM’s bold Bolt plan was to offer the electric vehicle (EV) as a personal means of transportation and a shared mobility platform through its Maven program. We haven’t heard much from that initiative and it seems GM is ready to get in bed with the top two ride-hailing companies, Uber and Lyft. Is GM a bit lost in its strategy? Or is it figuring out what works and sharpening its vision?
GM has now decided to enlist the help of the public for its upcoming e-bike, with a $10,000 contest called the E-Bike Brand Challenge. This crowdsourcing approach to gauge interest will help the company find a name and will give me a way to win $10,000. … Of course, the challenge is open to you as well. May the best wordsmith win!
In the meantime, GM designed not one but two electric bicycles, which it plans to sell beginning in early 2019. The interesting tidbit is that GM will partner with arch-rival Ford, which also designed an e-bike, the Go Plus. So, wait, what’s going on here? Well, that’s about all we know.
Chasing The Best Last-Mile Solution With A Homemade GM Folding E-Bike
We’d be remiss not to mention that GM already showed off an e-bike concept back in 2015. Four years later, it will become a commercial reality — or some version of it.
But astute readers are surely wondering about the specs, as are we. Unfortunately, there is little to no information on it … making it a bit difficult to come up with a fitting name. But, seriously, the only thing we know so far is that it will have a USB charging port and LED lights, according to GM. The automaker bikemaker is keeping everything else secret. Perhaps as it simply hasn’t decided on the final specs. We’re waiting for company comments.
It’s always good news to hear a gasoline carmaker is continuing its electric mobility adventure, and what better way to do this than to stray from low-hanging fruits such as SUVs and pickup trucks. GM is no stranger to bold moves and we hope it will continue with the same determination to bring us more Volts, Bolts, and why not electric folding Jolts? (No, Jolts is not my personal entry for the $10,000 prize.)
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
