Chris James explains why Engine No 1 bought General Motors shares

Shares of General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) are up 3.5% on Monday morning after activist hedge fund Engine No 1 said it took a sizable stake in the largest U.S. automaker.

The move was related to GM’s announcement at the start of 2021 that it wanted to switch completely to electric vehicles by 2035. The American multinational has already committed $35 billion to electric and autonomous vehicles through 2025.

Chris James’ remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”

Engine No 1 bought 400,000 shares of General Motors in August but formally announced its stake only today. Commenting on GM’s transition to EV, Engine No 1 founder Chris James said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”:

With the support of a really strong management team and a great board, General Motors has decided to embrace the future and make the investments necessary to be successful during its transition to EV.

The news comes only days after General Motors said the global chip shortage weighed on its Q3 U.S. sales.

GM has a different approach from its competitors

James likes General Motors more than its competitors, as GM is taking a different approach in transitioning to electric vehicles. He added:

In most cases, companies tend to protect their legacy business first and in doing so end up being very slow in the adoption of new technologies. But General Motors is taking an all-in, battery electric vehicle only approach with its new Ultium platform.

Also on Monday, General Motors struck a supplier agreement with Wolfspeed for Silicon Carbide.