Mary T. Barra
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at General Motors
Thanks, Rocky, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Today, Paul and I will provide some insights into our record results and then talk about our outlook for the second half. As we announced earlier, we achieved EBIT-adjusted of $4.1 billion in the second quarter and $8.5 billion in the first half, including charges for recalls, primarily the Bolt EV. I really want to thank our employees and the extended GM team, including our suppliers and our dealers for helping us deliver such consistently strong results. Everyone continues to demonstrate remarkable resiliency and adaptability in a rapidly changing environment.
In addition, our ROIC-adjusted of 27.3% in the quarter significantly exceeded our targets. This underlines how our strong returns enable us to reinvest in the future of this business. The reinvestment includes accelerated investments in our electric and autonomous strategy to build a future that is better for our customers and better for the environment, and we'll discuss this a bit more in a few minutes.
All-electric is an important point of distinction. Because of the performance, range, flexibility and scalability of our Ultium and HYDROTEC platforms, including the work we're doing to continually drive cost reduction, we don't need to depend on partial solutions like hybrids and electrified ICE vehicles. Instead, we're primarily focused on investments that achieve the end solution of zero emissions more quickly.
Before we move on, I will share my perspective on our recall of the 2017 to '19 model year Bolt EVs, and then the status of the semiconductor situation. So let's start with the Bolt. Across the company, we have made both product and workplace safety everyone's responsibility. Our focus is on prevention, but also moving with a sense of urgency when problems do arise.
When we learned of a potential of two new battery fires that were part of our previous recall population, we acted quickly. We did an investigation and our engineering analysis identified two rare manufacturing defects in some cells manufactured by our supplier in the '17 to '19 timeframe. So we instituted a second recall with the overriding priority of doing the right thing. Because cells for 2020 and later vehicles were built using improved manufacturing processes, the recall does not impact newer Bolt EVs or EUVs. And since that recall, we have worked with our supplier and partner to make further process improvements. Just as important, the recall doesn't impact the Ultium platform. It is a different battery system, and our joint venture plants that manufacture Ultium cells will follow rigorous GM quality processes.
As for semiconductors, the situation does remain fluid and the supply chain continues to be impacted by events like what is happening right now with the COVID spike in Malaysia. While we informed our employees yesterday that some truck production will be impacted next week, even as we resume production at some crossover plants, we remain confident in our team's ability to continue to find creative solutions that minimize the impact on our highest demand and capacity constrained vehicles, including full-size trucks and SUV.
We are raising our guidance for full year EBIT-adjusted to $11.5 billion to $13.5 billion. And we are being cautious because of the uncertainty due to the Delta variant and its potential impact on the supply chain, but we do believe that the combination of our safety protocols and the rising vaccination rates will help minimize disruptions. But we do have to note, the situation does remain fluid. We are also putting long-term solutions in place to derisk our supply chain. This includes collaborating with semiconductor manufacturers and continuing to enhance transparency throughout the entire semiconductor supply chain.
So now let's turn to growth. As I mentioned in my letter to shareholders, we are addressing the entire ecosystem to speed EV adoption and commercialization of self-driving technology at scale. We will offer a full range of vehicles and services that make EVs accessible to the largest possible customer base. We'll also create job opportunities for thousands of employees in our Ultium Cells joint venture. In addition, we will work to grow our businesses like BrightDrop, OnStar Insurance and other software and services, including subscriptions.
The Cruise model for autonomous rideshare is another great example of an inclusive solution, because it will make all-electric transportation more accessible and affordable. Delivering on our EV all-electric future requires a value change that is secure, sustainable, scalable and cost competitive. To do this, we are creating a diversified value chain of environmentally-friendly and geographically diverse footprints through investments, strategic partnerships and supply agreements. For example, we are working with suppliers to develop new sources in the United States for lithium, a key battery cell component and accelerate the adoption of extraction methods which have less of an impact on the environment. We're taking a similar approach across other critical minerals needed to support our EV future. And we're confident that our strategy will secure our supply in a sustainable way as we accelerate our transition to EV.
We'll share more about these key topics and others, including battery cost and business opportunities that we're creating with software at our investor event on October 6 and 7, which we hope will be in person, because we are so looking forward to having you experience technologies like Watts to Freedom in the GMC Hummer EV pickup as well as Super Cruise, which we are constantly advancing its capabilities.
Just last month, for example, we demonstrated the latest version of Super Cruise technology that will be featured on the Sierra 1500 Denali late in the 2022 model year. It will include the ability to trailer while driving hands-free. We will also update you on Cruise, which continues to make excellent progress towards launching its first fully driverless commercial service. GM remains a major accelerator of Cruise's mission with the purpose-built origin, giving Cruise a huge competitive advantage.
I also want to take a moment to share some new insights into our plan to launch more than 30 EVs globally by 2025 and become the EV market leader in North America. As we recently announced, because we are increasing our 2020 to 2025 capital and engineering investment from $27 billion to $35 billion, we will add two new vehicles to our commercial portfolio. The first is a full size battery electric cargo van for Chevrolet, which will exceed the expectations of small business owners, trades people and anyone else who has been well served by the Chevrolet Express.
The second is a medium-duty truck that will put both Ultium and our HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cell technology to work, powering service and utility vehicles such as school buses, bucket trucks, recursive and more, both will complement BrightDrop and keep our commercial fleet market share growing, and we'll share more details about these products as we move forward.
Now if you step back for a moment and think about what this means for the future of work and the greenhouse gas reduction from surface transportation, because when you say between these new trucks, BrightDrop, EV pickups coming from Chevrolet and GMC and our work with Wabtec on locomotives and Navistar on semi trucks, we will have electric solutions for almost any towing or hauling jobs you can imagine.
HYDROTEC is a very important part of the equation because it expands our reach into additional growth markets. We're already at work on our first production fuel cells leveraging innovative manufacturing processes that can unlock economies of scale and reduce overall costs. This technology along with our four U.S. battery plants that we have announced and the full portfolio of EVs we are planning in addition to the customer experience we're creating, underscore once again how determined we are to lead.
The determination reaches through the entire company. And when I meet with our employees, they tell me how incredibly excited they are to be part of a once-in-a-generation transformation that will truly change the world. Their tenacity and collective commitment to our vision are why we are delivering such strong business results and advancing our future so quickly.
So now for a closer look at our results and the outlook, I'll turn the call over to Paul.