GM’s new look for a new era

General Motors has unveiled a new logo for the first time in more than 50 years as part of its transformation towards an electric future.

The brand has dropped its trademark dark blue square logo with capital letters and adopted a new lighter shade of blue, rounded edges and lower case letters to evoke what the company claims is a “more modern, inclusive feel.” It’s also designed to evoke themes of clean skies as part of the company’s electric push, with the horizontal line under the ‘m’ is designed to represent the brand’s new Ultium electric vehicle (EV) platform.

The new logo was designed in-house, in a project led by an Australian, former Holden designer Sharon Gauci, who is GM executive director of Global Industrial Design.

“This was a project our team took so personally, not just for ourselves but for the 164,000 employees this logo represents. At every step we wanted to be intentional and deliberate because this logo signifies creative and innovative thinking across the global General Motors family.”

It comes as part of a wider push from the brand that will see US$27 billion invested in EV and autonomous vehicles over the next five years. The company is committed to launching 30 new EVs around the world by the end of 2025.

Ultium will be key to this EV expansion, the all-new GMC Hummer will be the first to make use of the platform, with the Cadillac Lyriq the next confirmed production car, due to hit US showrooms in 2022.

The Ultium system features three different electric motors and five interchangeable drive units, so GM can choose the right fit for each model. The company claims Ultium’s batteries have a range of more than 700km between charging already.

A new marketing program called “Everybody In” is designed to celebrate the new logo and shift towards GM’s electric future. The brand’s global marketing boss, Deborah Wahl explained that the dramatic change in look helps usher in this new era for GM.

“There are moments in history when everything changes. Inflection points. We believe such a point is upon us for the mass adoption of electric vehicles,” Wahl said. “Unlike ever before, we have the solutions, capability, technology and scale to put everyone in an EV. Our new brand identity and campaign are designed to reflect this.”