◼BUSINESS BloombergBusinessweek December 21, 2020TAVEL:
PHOTOGRAPH
BY
ELAINE
CROMIE
FOR
BLOOMBERG
BUSINESSWEEK.
HUMMER:
COURTESY
GENERAL
MOTORS
useofcomputerengineeringcutsGM’sbudgetfor
prototype cars and parts by 63% compared with
physical models, says Mike Anderson, the compa-
ny’s executive director for global virtual design.
Underitsoldmethod,GMwouldmockupa new
vehicleliketheHummerbyusinga dressed-up
version of an older GM pickup as a reference point.
But it might take two full years to create a proto-
type with an engine and chassis. Now, 18 months
into the Hummer truck’s development, GM already
has working prototypes driving around test tracks,
Anderson says. Since each hand-built test vehicle
can cost $500,000 to $2 million, cutting down on the
numberneededcansaveconsiderablecosts,says
SandyMunro,founderofengineeringfirmMunro
& Associates.TherapidshifttoEVsalsoiscausing a
shake-up in the rank and file who will make future
cars. GM needs fewer mechanical engineers and
blue-collar assembly line workers to design and
build them. Instead, the company will require more
software coders and battery experts.
But some of the biggest changes brought on by
the high-speed development of EVs have been to
GM’s deliberative corporate culture. To get around
the typically hourslong and overstaffed commit-
tee meetings at GM’s sprawling tech center cam-
pus north of Detroit, Tavel holds an open meeting
every day at noon with a one-hour time limit for
team members gathered around a wooden table.
He borrowed Amazon.com Inc.’s two-pizza rule to
keep delays to a minimum. “If you can’t feed every-
one there with two pizzas, you have too many peo-
ple there,” Tavel says.
One challenge faced by the team was engineer-
ing the vehicle with four removable roof panels,
allowing it to become an open-air vehicle like
the Jeep Wrangler or coming Ford Bronco. Tavel
wanted the modular panels stored in the front
trunk, or frunk, the place where an engine would
be if the pickup ran on gasoline. The engineer in
charge prepared a PowerPoint deck to discuss
options for moving around other parts to make
the panels fit, but Tavel refused to read it. Instead,
he told the engineer to make a spot decision and
inform everyone else on the team. Debate averted.
That was part of Tavel’s policy of making all
decisions within 24 hours so thorny issues aren’t
postponed and delays don’t cascade. He says
authority for that fast-pass policy comes from the
highest levels. When Barra calls him to check on
progress, her questions are rarely about the truck
itself and usually deal with GM’s culture of deliber-
ation and checking on timing, he says.
Tavel, a former wrench-wielding racetrack tech-
nician who started driving sports cars at age 16,likes to bend the rules. But the demanding schedule
has required long hours and a lot of weekend work
by the Hummer team. GM hopes to replace the
maniclaborwitha slightlymorerelaxedprocess
forthenextwaveofelectricvehiclesunderdevel-
opment,Andersonsays.“Youhavepassion-driven
energy that crosses that borderline between work
and life,” he says. “We’re working to make it so the
next one is not like the Apollo space program. We
know that’s not sustainable.”
Tavel sees the project paying off even after the
Hummer goes on sale, because it will show the
entire company how to move faster. Barra’s intent,
he says, “was to use us as a flag-bearer to show the
whole organization what is possible.” In a year, he’ll
seeif shewasright.�DavidWelchTHE BOTTOM LINE GM will roll out 30 battery-powered models by
2025 in an effort not to be left behind as EVs take off. But remaking
40% of its lineup means it must learn to speed up development.▲ Hummer EV pickups
near completion; chief
engineer Tavel at
GM’s tech campus13