GM to increase investment in electrification, autonomous driving

US carmaker General Motors Co is scaling up its investment in electric cars and autonomous driving from 2020 through 2025 to $35 billion, which is around 30 percent up from its previous budget of 27 billion.

"We are investing aggressively in a comprehensive and highly-integrated plan to make sure that GM leads in all aspects of the transformation to a more sustainable future," said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra.

"GM is targeting annual global electric car sales of more than 1 million by 2025, and we are increasing our investment to scale faster because we see momentum building in the United States for electrification, along with customer demand for our product portfolio," she said.

The carmaker unveiled its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion nearly four years ago. It said the additional investment will create greater competitive edges.

GM is accelerating plans to build two new battery cell manufacturing plants in the United States by mid-decade.

It is collaborating with Honda to build two EVs using its Ultium technology and has signed a memorandum of understanding to supply Ultium batteries and fuel cells to Wabtec Corporation, which is developing the world's first battery-powered locomotive.

GM is confirming plans to launch its third-generation fuel cells with even greater power density and lower costs by mid-decade.

GM Financial will provide a multi-year, $5 billion credit facility for Cruise to scale its Cruise Origin fleet.

Cruise, GM's majority-owned subsidiary, recently became the first company to receive permission from regulators in California to provide a driverless service to the public.