GM Envolve: One Year Later

At GM’s annual Fleet Solutions Summit in May of 2023, Steve Carlisle, former president of GM North America, revealed GM Envolve to an audience of nearly 850 business customers and dealers. GM Fleet was officially reimagined as a one-stop business-to-business/business-to-government (B2B/B2G) partner. 

One year later, Work Truck checked in with GM Envolve to learn more about its progress, how fleet managers received the change, updates since the launch, and more.

Looking Back at the First Year

In May 2023, GM Envolve was created as a "one-stop" experience for vehicle sales and access to GM’s portfolio of commercial products and services across multiple divisions.

However, the evolution went far beyond just a name change from GM Fleet – it was the result of conversations with GM’s customers – from Fortune 500 to small local businesses – and came down to not only having a simplified experience with one point of contact.

“That might seem like a small change, but it’s truly significant. Our GM Envolve team is integrated more than ever with our product teams to build the commercial and government business together,” said Sandor Piszar, vice president of GM Envolve.

Since its launch, GM Envolve has transformed the customer experience from supplier to partner. It understands customers' businesses — from how they use their vehicles to their challenges — and helps them with solutions through GM products and services, including OnStar Business Solutions for fleet telematics. 

According to Piszar, this gives GM Envolve its competitive advantage—a step away from the model the auto industry has historically used, where fleet and commercial customers had several points of contact within an OEM.

Today, fleet managers and leaders only need one person for solutions ranging from OnStar service to GM Energy and GM Financial, data and analytics, insights, and offerings.

A Happy Welcome from Commercial Fleets

According to GM Envolve, customers have responded exceptionally well to this business model and its intended purpose.

“Many of our account executives have helped proactively identify solutions to needs through their relationships with customers and understanding their business. That includes telematics to better understand fleet vehicle usage and driver behavior, with actionable insights that save time and money and preserve residual values,” Piszar said.

As more fleets consider electrification, GM Envolve has been there to answer questions, such as whether the fleet is ready to introduce EVs now or is starting to consider them for the future. 

This help includes using resources like EV Live, a virtual showroom where their questions can be answered.  

Continuing to Grow and Evolve

One area GM Envolve has been working on for its customers is understanding the challenges they face when electrifying their fleets.

“What we’re seeing from most of our customers so far is that they’re starting with a few EVs,” Piszar said. “As with all aspects of our business, it’s built on relationships, and we’ve been listening and taking their feedback to develop a program that supports them to make the transition to EVs seamless.”

Piszar added that this is where GM Envolve’s business model is an advantage: if a customer is interested in an EV but doesn’t have the charging infrastructure, we can work with GM Energy to find a solution.

New Growth and Product Offerings

Looking back, 2023 was a great year for GM Envolve products.

• In the government vehicle space, the Chevrolet Blazer EV was the first GM EV to earn the police pursuit certification — a first for any EV in the U.S. It will be coming to market this year.
• The Silverado EV Work Truck was launched as the first vehicle in the fleet.
• GM won the 2023 Automotive Fleet Car and Truck of the Year awards: the Chevrolet Bolt EV was the first EV to win; the Chevrolet Silverado won for the 5th  time.

In addition, GM Envolve recently developed its business to make some of OnStar Business Solutions’ most sought-after technology even more accessible to fleets.

“Starting with the 2025 model year, we are standardizing Automatic Crash Response, vehicle health and remote vehicle commands (OVI), and navigation and voice assistance for eight years in every new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac fleet vehicle,” Piszar said.

Moreover, the Blazer EV, Blazer EV PPV, and Equinox EV will be available in 2024. These models provide new EV entries in some of the biggest segments to help commercial and government customers electrify their fleets. These are in addition to new introductions on model-year 2025 Chevrolet ICE products like the all-new Traverse, Tahoe, Suburban, and Equinox models. 

Plus, OnStar Business Solutions introduced its new Insights DualCam, which offers fleet managers even more insights into their teams and fleet vehicles on the road.

The new Insights DualCam is designed to protect teams, assets, and the business while taking steps to help reduce and mitigate crashes in the long term.

The Silverado 1500 remains one of GM’s most popular work trucks, and ICE demand for gas and diesel is very strong. Still, Piszar noted that EVs are a part of every customer conversation.

The Silverado EV Work Truck is also an important part of GM’s lineup for fleet customers looking to electrify their fleet but still want the performance and capabilities of a work truck. The Silverado EV is unique as it was purpose-built from the ground up as an EV work truck and launched to fleet customers first – a first in GM’s history. It was offered to commercial customers and put into the toughest use case scenarios first.

The numbers help tell the story. For 2023, total GM Envolve sales were up 20% year-over-year — # 1 for commercial fleet deliveries for the second straight year and #1 for total sales.

In addition, government sales were up 28%, which is the best for GM since 2012. Commercial and government sales helped GM’s total sales across all segments, with 2.6 million vehicles sold.

Integrating BrightDrop and Focusing on the Future

The GM Envolve team has been fully integrated with GM product teams. This brings the complete range of products and solutions to fleets. BrightDrop, a leading portfolio of all-purpose, all-electric vans, was developed and produced by the GM Innovation team.

This business unit has been intentionally brought under the GM Envolve umbrella. This includes all commercial digital solutions added to GM's software and services organization. This move will increase customer efficiency and create more opportunities for collaboration as we develop products and solutions for the future. 

GM Envolve provides access to the GM Powered Solutions Team, which consists of engineering experts with over a century of experience. They offer custom powertrain solutions and products for various applications, such as off- and on-road, marine, and industrial. One of their notable products is the ePaver, the first all-electric asphalt paver designed and built for one of the leading companies that construct our nation’s roads.

Furthermore, GM Envolve is collaborating closely with GM Energy to address the concerns of fleets considering adding or expanding their electric vehicle (EV) portfolio, particularly regarding charging infrastructure. In January, GM Energy and FreeWire announced their partnership to provide ultrafast EV charging infrastructure for GM Envolve fleet and commercial customers. 

Adapting to Changing Market Conditions and Trends  

GM Envolve is currently forecasting the fleet industry to remain stable in the calendar year 2024 versus 2023. 

The automaker is still seeing strong customer demand in both the retail and commercial segments. Currently, fleet sales make up about 23% of total GM sales, and we expect that to hold steady this year.

“There is an intense focus on the fleet and commercial space within the industry, and we see significant opportunities to grow our current and future customer business,” Piszar added. “Since I stepped into my role leading the GM Envolve team, I’ve prioritized meeting with our customers to understand the changes, challenges, and opportunities they face so we can continue to evolve and strengthen our solutions for them. This year, we will have some exciting announcements that will help our customers use their fleet efficiently and as a growth driver for their business.”

To meet customer demand, the company plans to introduce hybrid vehicles into the market where the demand is the highest.

“Thank you to all our GM Envolve customers. We know that transportation is a crucial part of your business operations. The excitement that our team has as we work with our customers to use their fleet to grow their business is unmatched,” Sandor said.