General Motors is changing its corporate logo by launching a new marketing strategy focused on all-electric vehicles. It is only the fifth time that the Detroit automaker has made a major overhaul of its logo since its founding in 1908.
The new logo features the automaker’s initials “gm” in lower case with the “m” underlined as a nod to its Ultium battery cell platform that will underpin its new EVs, said Deborah Wahl, GM’s director of marketing. The bright blue letters are inside a rounded box of the same color. It replaces a white “GM” underlined in a darker blue block.
The move follows pressure from Wall Street last year to spin off its EV business, which the company said it analyzed and decided against.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas previously suggested that GM change its name to better represent the company’s future plans, which include 30 new EVs globally with a $ 27 billion investment in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.
“I really believe that we are at an inflection point for EVs,” said Wahl during a news conference on Friday. “Today we are creating a call to action and showing how we plan to lead the future, inviting ‘everyone to join’. … we want to trigger the mass EV adoption movement. “
The new logo, which was developed internally, accompanies a new slogan “all inside” and an advertising campaign focused on EVs. The “ev” to start the slogan is in the new blue color, while the other letters are in white.
Wahl said the campaign would be “very significant”, but she declined to provide how much the automaker spent on the redesigned logo and new messages.
GM is among an increasing number of large companies that are making changes to the corporate logo recently. Others include Kia Motors, Rite Aid, Burger King and Pfizer.