Don’t know much about electric vehicles and have some questions? GM is taking a stab at answering them all through its EV Live virtual platform that’s available to all Canadians for free.
The concept is very similar to Cadillac Live, where you can speak one-on-one with a specialist on a guided tour of features and functions, only in this case, it’s about more than just show and tell. The Michigan-based EV Live studio is staffed by GM personnel who can showcase eight different stations and address any random questions regarding EVs, how they work, where they can charge and more. It’s always free to hop on and you don’t have to register an account to use it.
The EV Live site is already populated with information covering what’s in the studio, but it’s just as easy to jump on a video call with a specialist without booking a day or time. You could always reserve a spot, but as is, the wait time is short enough where it may not be necessary. The only time GM insists on appointments is for group calls. All video calls are one-way, meaning you can see what the specialist shows you, but they can’t see you. No need to worry about how you look when learning something new about EVs.
What there is to teach
The eight stations cover everything from batteries, home and public charging, the latest GM EVs, infrastructure, app support and fleet vehicles and services. If you want to see it all, reps will cover them all in the order you want based on questions you have.
Education is the unquestionable focus for EV Live, but it’s also a way to display and explain GM’s own technologies, which is why its Ultium battery platform is so prominent. The same goes for charging infrastructure, where the automaker’s partnership with Qmerit comes into play. There is no actual commerce going on here — you can’t buy or reserve anything on this platform — but specialists can point you in the direction where you can.
Don’t expect to hear anything about what competitors are doing, or what other vendors might offer for charging and infrastructure installation. GM naturally keeps the focus tighter that way, though generic questions about EV features, like how they drive, regenerative braking, repairs, warranties and such are applicable to non-GM vehicles, too.
Canadians have been checking things out, regardless. GM says 58,000 have visited EV Live since it launched in Canada in January 2023, with 900 of those being video calls. That’s a fairly low percentage given the number of overall visitors but calls average 12 minutes, so they’re generally not quick one-and-done situations. These also include calls where the rep is speaking with a visitor who prefers to type or text questions instead.
EV Live is also browser-only, leaving you to use one on your phone or tablet if you want to do this on a mobile device. It works fine on iOS and Android, though GM says it’s not developing a dedicated app for the platform.
Rolling along
For GM, EV Live is one way to bridge a major knowledge gap. A KPMG survey found over 30 percent of Canadians are reluctant to transition to EVs because of a number of reasons that include cost, range anxiety, charging concerns and what models are available. The number goes up to 70 percemt for charging anxiety alone. Even half the GM dealers in the country have come onto the platform to learn how to better explain EVs to bewildered customers who walk in.
Reps also don’t favour one GM brand over another. The studio had the Cadillac LyriQ, Hummer EV and Chevrolet Bolt, along with a full Ultium battery chassis to illustrate what the lineup includes. I did a demo with a specialist without identifying myself as a journalist to get a sense of what the overall experience would be like. It was a lot like Cadillac Live, and immediately reminded me of how immersive that felt, despite being virtual.
This may be the future of how automakers will sell their vehicles to customers. Dealerships aren’t likely going away anytime soon, but it’s not hard to foresee a time where more people walk into dealerships knowing a lot more than they did before. GM made clear to me it doesn’t see EV Live as a sales tool, but to me, it’s every bit a sales assist. In fairness, reps did an excellent job explaining the differences in rebates between provinces, also noting where the Ultium batteries and vehicles were being manufactured. Asking a lot of questions on this platform does save a lot of time looking things up in a search engine.
Like its Cadillac counterpart, GM looks committed to keeping EV Live going for years to come as it pushes for its own mass conversion to EVs over the next decade. It will be interesting to see how other automakers choose to reach out to prospective customers, and how GM might expand on this way of doing things.
Image credit: GM
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