GM Is Building New V8s, EVs, And Self-Driving Cars At Once. It’s Vehicle Boss Told Us How

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GM vehicle products chief Jaclyn McQuaid outlined a portfolio plan spanning gas-powered vehicles, EVs and automated driving in an interview with The Drive. The company’s stated targets include a new centralized electrical architecture and highway eyes-off driving technology in the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ, with broader deployment plans still ahead.

General Motors is pursuing gas-powered vehicles, electric vehicles and automated driving systems in parallel, vehicle products chief Jaclyn McQuaid told The Drive, outlining a product strategy that includes a new centralized electrical architecture, AI-assisted development and a revamped OnStar service. The plans matter because GM intends to apply shared technology across different kinds of vehicles, while its announced milestones remain future targets rather than delivered products.

In an interview on The Drivecast, McQuaid discussed a broad technology and product program at the automaker. The report says GM is developing a clean-sheet electrical architecture centered on a central computing unit, intended to support both next-generation electric vehicles and gas-powered models. GM plans for the architecture to debut in the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ.

The same architecture is expected to support a new hands-free, eyes-off driving system. According to the report, the system is intended to launch first for highway driving, then expand to additional roads. GM also plans to bring it to light-duty gas-powered trucks. The eventual ambition, as described in the source report, is for a truck to run errands without its owner onboard; the report does not establish that this capability is ready or give a launch date for it.

GM is also working on next-generation batteries using lithium manganese-rich (LMR) chemistry. The source says these batteries are described as less expensive than current nickel manganese cobalt batteries and more energy-dense than lithium iron phosphate batteries. The report also says GM executives expect AI to reduce vehicle development time by half and help streamline manufacturing, but it does not provide a measurement method or schedule for reaching that target.

One Platform for More GM Vehicles

If GM can deliver the planned architecture across both electric and gas-powered vehicles, it could give the automaker a common technical foundation for product updates and new driver-assistance features across a broad lineup. That is a strategic response to the challenge of developing vehicles with different powertrains while competing with newer automakers and technology firms.

The company’s proposals also connect vehicle engineering to ownership services. GM plans to reboot OnStar as a personal AI assistant and consolidate owner interactions from individual brand smartphone apps into a new OnStar app, which the report says is planned for 2027. If implemented as described, this would change how customers access services across GM brands, not just how vehicles are built.

For drivers, the most consequential claims concern automation and battery costs. Eyes-off driving could reduce the work required of a driver under permitted conditions, but the initial highway restriction and future expansion plans matter: the system’s capabilities, operating limits and availability will determine what it can actually do. LMR batteries could affect EV cost and range, but GM has not provided figures in the source material to quantify those potential effects.

From Truck Engineering to Product Strategy

McQuaid’s role spans GM’s vehicle portfolio. In the interview, she described a career across engineering, supply chain, heavy-duty trucks and executive product roles, including leadership in Buick and GMC sales, service and marketing before taking responsibility for vehicle products. Her experience in trucks is relevant to the plan to extend automated driving technology beyond Cadillac EVs to GM’s gas-powered pickups.

The near-term timeline in The Drive’s report centers on two separate targets: a new OnStar app in 2027 and the electrical architecture’s planned arrival in the 2028 Escalade IQ. The account presents these as future plans. It does not say that all elements of the wider strategy, including LMR batteries and autonomous errands, will arrive on those dates.

The source frames GM’s accumulated engineering experience and data as potential advantages in applying AI and developing vehicles. That is the company’s strategic case, not independent evidence that AI will halve development time or that the approach will outperform competitors.

“Eventually, the goal is for your truck to run errands without you.”

— GM’s stated long-term goal, as reported by The Drive

Timelines and Capabilities Remain Open

The source describes a strategy and future targets, but gives limited detail on costs, technical specifications and rollout timing. It does not provide a date for the planned eyes-off system’s expansion beyond highways, identify which light-duty trucks will receive it first, or spell out the operating conditions and driver responsibilities.

GM’s AI productivity estimate is also not independently substantiated in the report: no starting development-time baseline, measurement approach or vehicle program is named. The relative cost and energy-density comparisons for LMR batteries are reported without numerical data, and the report does not specify when those batteries will enter production vehicles.

It is also unclear how the new OnStar assistant will work, what functions it will offer, or how existing customers’ accounts and services will move from brand-specific apps. The plans could change before launch; the source does not report completed validation or production readiness for these initiatives.

Watch the 2027 and 2028 Milestones

The next stated consumer-facing step is GM’s planned OnStar app consolidation in 2027. Details about its assistant features, supported vehicles and the timing of the individual brand apps’ retirement have not been provided in the source report.

The larger engineering milestone is the planned 2028 Escalade IQ debut of the centralized architecture and highway-focused hands-free, eyes-off system. Further announcements will be needed to establish when the technology reaches gas-powered trucks, which roads it will support after its initial launch and whether GM’s battery and development-time targets are met.

Key Questions

What is GM planning for its vehicle technology?

GM is planning a centralized electrical architecture for future EVs and gas-powered vehicles, AI-assisted development, an updated OnStar experience, next-generation LMR batteries and a hands-free eyes-off driving system.

When is the new electrical architecture expected?

The Drive reports that GM plans to introduce it in the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ. The report does not give a complete rollout schedule for other models.

Will GM’s eyes-off driving system let a truck run errands by itself?

That is described as a long-term goal, not a confirmed current capability. The reported initial plan is for highway use, with expansion to other roads and light-duty trucks intended later.

What is GM changing about OnStar?

GM plans to make OnStar a personal AI assistant and combine owner services in a new OnStar smartphone app, which the report says is planned for 2027. Specific features and migration details are not yet clear.

What does GM claim AI will do for vehicle development?

GM executives expect AI to cut vehicle development time in half and streamline manufacturing, according to The Drive. The report does not provide a baseline or evidence showing how or when that target will be achieved.

Source: rss