By Mike Colias

General Motors Co. has set a 2035 target date for phasing out gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles from its showrooms globally, among the first major auto makers to put a timeline on transitioning to a fully electric lineup.

GM's goal, disclosed in a social-media post Thursday from chief executive Mary Barra, would mark a striking transition from its current business model. Vehicles that run on fossil fuels and emit pollution account for roughly 98% of GM's sales today and all of its profit. The large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles that are the company's biggest money makers are also among its least-fuel-efficient vehicles.

The nation's largest auto maker by sales called the 2035 date to eliminate all tailpipe pollution an aspiration. Even so, many governments around the world, from California to Japan and the United Kingdom, have pledged to ban gas- and diesel-powered cars by then.

GM previously had said it expects its own portfolio and the broader car market to go all-electric eventually, but company executives had not discussed a time frame.

The auto maker is making one of the car industry's biggest bets on electric vehicles. In November, it said it would lift its investment in plug-in vehicles as well as driverless-car technology by one-third from earlier plans, to $27 billion by mid-decade. That represents more than half its planned capital expenditures during that time, the company has said.

GM also said Thursday that it aims to be carbon-neutral by 2040, which would mean eliminating carbon emissions from all of its operations as well as the vehicles it makes and sells. About three-quarters of GM's carbon output comes from the emissions produced by the cars and trucks it puts on the road.

"We believe that with our scale and reach we can encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy," Ms. Barra said in a post on LinkedIn.

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-28-21 1145ET