When you think General Motors (GM), you probably think Detroit. But the venerable marque – celebrating its 115th year in 2021 – is truly a global company, spanning six continents and employing 150,000 people. Its operation in the Middle East and Africa counts 1,100 employees alone and is coordinated via its hub in Dubai. It also operates a separate manufacturing facility in Egypt.
As such, the company can be regarded as heavily invested into the region and when it talks about creating a world of zero emissions, zero crashes and diversity it is doing so with a huge, vested interest. Talking at last month’s Dubai Lease Conference, Sajed Sbeih, managing director, commercial operations, GM (UAE) explains that he and the local team take their cues from the top.
“Our chairman and CEO Mary Barra is not only from the top hundred most influential woman in the world. That says, a lot about our culture and how we value diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace, in our organisation. We work in a male dominant industry, so it is vital that we support women and leadership.”
Sbeih has been in the industry for 17 years. While that time has flown by, he says he has seen more changes in the past 18 months than the previous 15 years combined. He adds that those changes are coinciding with huge changes in the region, particularly when it comes to mobility and connectivity.
“Connected technologies is part of the aim of this country but as GM’s vision and the UAE’s vision is very much aligned,” he chimes. “The thrill of discovery and innovation is what propels us at General Motors. We’re not just focusing on where we will be in 10 years, but on how we will reimagine the customer experiences as they are at the heart of everything.”
Nothing is more future facing than the electric, autonomous lunar truck, GM is developing with Lockheed Martin. Announced early in the summer, the extreme temperatures and vacuum conditions of the lunar surface will test GM’s on- and off-road knowledge to the maximum.
“This truck can travel further than ever before on hazardous terrain and explore the dark side of the moon where no man has ventured ever before,” says Sbeih. He adds that the technology could help the more Earth-bound development underway at GM in fuel efficiency, lighter models and safer and more efficient driver: “And, by the way, help drivers have a more fun time on the road.”
GM’s development strategy has three main pillars: electrification, autonomy and connectivity. Of the three, it is connectivity that could have the most profound effect on fleets in the near-term: “I believe that connectivity will drive a change in what, and how, we experience as mobility in the future. From helping to reduce traffic accidents to entertainment and personalisation, it would allow our vehicles to talk to each other and infrastructure. As well as help them to drive safely. It will also allow for automatic updates and ease interaction all through connectivity and data management,” he explains.
The OnStar FMS service launched in Kuwait in the summer and GM is hoping that it can soon offer a wide range of fleets services that give small business owners and fleet managers meaningful insights, including actionable data, and the confidence they are maximising their RoI: “We have already some of these services available in the market particularly in Kuwait, and we can roll it out in other markets in the future.”
“OnStar brings a whole new level of safety and security and thereby peace of mind for all of our customers, OnStar also enables the underlying connectivity exclusively in our vehicles, and enables them to offer connected services,” he explains, adding that all new cars will be connected in some-way by 2030. “It’s real. It’s coming.”
Specifically for fleet owners, Sbeih says connected vehicles powered by OnStar create a new world of opportunities for operators: “For example, Fleet Management Solutions enable vehicle sharing and, and also the keyless entry solutions mean you don’t need additional hardware while keeping you and your most valuable assets, your people and vehicles, safe and secure,” he says adding that he believes that there are five ways that telematics help increase a fleet’s return on investment.
“First, it actually decreases the operational costs as telematics provide meaningful insights and recommendations backed by real-time data. It reduces your operating cost: preventing or minimising costly downtime; getting maintenance alerts; or even using a feature like remote unlock, so there is no need to call or pay for a locksmith. This all can help save your brand and your business money every year.
“Second, it helps protects your assets. Telematics offers asset protection solutions, like real-time location tracking, and geofencing alerts allowing you to always be aware of where your most valuable assets are or if any of them leave a designated area.
“Third it helps improve Road Safety by dramatically and quickly improving driver behaviours, cutting risk and decreasing collisions. For example, having visibility into which drivers are accelerating or braking heavily. This will automatically reduce vehicle downtime and increase profit. There’s a sign over the back of some vehicles saying am I driving safely? If not, please call X number…. with OnStar you don’t need to have such a message because you can get this information in real time.
“Forth, OnStar optimises productivity and there are driver management tools that help operators gain a total perspective of their fleet by providing meaningful data that will maximise on the efficiency from a macro view to individual vehicles,” he says. “And lastly the experience that you provide your own customers. These systems are easy to use built-in technology creates efficiencies that help optimise your operation and bring peace of mind to the end user or to your customers.
The beginning of 2021 saw GM launch the BrightDrop electric delivery arm of its business. August’s recall and concerns over Chevrolet Bolt EV notwithstanding – or more specifically the batteries being provided by LG – he says that electrification is a key driver: “There are 7.2 million electric vehicles on the road today and by we are looking to have more than 240 million,” he explains with GM aiming for an electrical equivalent across all its brands by 2025.
“The Chevrolet Bolt EV will soon be launched in the region. There is also the Cadillac LYRIQ which will be using our own new, propulsion battery system, Ultium, which combines performance and fast charging and includes a 33in advanced LED screen for interaction across the driver viewing area. Next will be the GMC Hummer EV, which is a revolution of what is possible with zero emissions: it delivers a 1,000 hp and it can go from zero to a 100mph in only 3 seconds. This has all been confirmed that will be coming to Middle East in late-2022.”
Sbeih concludes that the US firm is working on the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles. He adds that the its own Bolt-based Cruise AV will be coming to Dubai.
“We are continuing to invest for large-scale deployment. This technology won’t just allow flexibility in commutes, but will be safer on the roads. We also believe all EVs will be AVs and further help reduce emissions again. We have been conducting of a number of pilots and are excited to announce that with Dubai’s RTA, we will be bringing the Cruise to Dubai in 2023. Dubai is the first city outside the US, where Cruise will be launched.”
