GM’s Super Bowl announcement with Will Ferrell will focus on its electric vehicles

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After staying in the dust

Tesla

over the past year, shares of

General Motors

i

Ford engine

they have begun to rise. Both American vehicle icons have new electric models and GM is promoting its new models in Super Bowl advertising. For GM and Ford, it feels like old times.

One of the General Motors (GM) Super Bowl commercials is television and film star Will Ferrell. In it, Ferrell faces Norway and its success in boosting the sale of electric vehicles in the country. “Did you know that Norway sells more electric cars than the US?” Ferrell asks just before punching a globe. It’s a fun ad.

The commercial includes the all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ and the all-electric Hummer. Some versions of the Hummer EV will go on sale in late 2021 and the LYRIQ is expected to arrive after this release.

The announcement also includes GM’s Ultium battery technology, the platform developed in-house by the company designed to be used in multiple EV models. We hope that standardization can reduce the cost and development time of electric vehicles.

Not to be outdone, Ford (F) posted a video on Twitter showing his new all-electric Mach-E delivering pizza to Norway. Ford boasts that it already sells electric vehicles in the Nordic country, ahead of GM.

Electric vehicle investors might wonder where Tesla (TSLA) is, the leader in electric vehicles and the world’s most valuable auto company. Tesla doesn’t do much traditional advertising, based on launch events, word of mouth and the personality of founder and CEO Elon Musk. Your company saves the equivalent of billions a year by not having to sell cars like traditional car companies do.

Still, everyone likes a good Super Bowl ad. Another GM ad pays homage to Tim Burton’s film Edward Scissorhands. The site includes GM driver assistance features, which makes driving easier even if the driver has scissors on their hands.

Ford’s presence at the big game wasn’t as noticeable as its Detroit rival, but watching Ford and GM make funny shots against one feels nostalgic.

All ads, including the Scissorhands ad, featured new electric vehicles. More than two decades ago, another EV – the GM EV1 – made its commercial debut. That car came out around 1996 and used lead acid batteries. Today’s vehicles use lithium-ion battery technology. The range of the EV1 was 70 to 100 miles on a single charge, about a third of the achievement of modern EV vehicles.

The EV1 didn’t make it, but both Ford and GM are investing more in electric vehicles. GM has pledged to spend approximately $ 27 billion on electric vehicles and autonomous vehicle development by 2025. The plan is to launch 30 EV models by then.

Ford, meanwhile, plans to spend $ 20 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles during the same period.

Investors are starting to notice. Shares of Ford and GM have risen more than 45% in the past three months, better than the 11% comparable gain

S&P 500.

Tesla shares, however, are up more than 100% in the same range. Tesla continues to lead the EV race with many metrics. But traditional carmakers, including GM and Ford, are working hard to catch up and create brand awareness with consumers.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]