General Motors intends to add hybrid vehicles to its US lineup, a senior executive has confirmed, as hybrid demand continues to climb while all-electric sales lag.
Mike Anderson, GM’s vice president of propulsion engineering, restated the company’s hybrid intentions but would not say when the vehicles will arrive. Such models had previously been expected possibly as early as next year.
“It’s fair to say that [hybrids are] part of the plan,” Anderson, a 35-year GM veteran, told CNBC in an interview. “We’re not tone deaf to our customers. We know what they want and we want to give that to them as quickly as we can.”
GM has spent most of this decade largely outside the hybrid market, directing its resources toward an all-electric strategy. Anderson said lackluster EV demand, industry deregulation and rising hybrid popularity mean the company must serve customer demand wherever it sits.
“Our long-term vision is an all-electric future. That’s our goal,” he said. “That’s the end state, but it’s going to be a journey that involves technology diversity.”
CEO Mary Barra said in January that GM was still studying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, alongside conventional hybrids for the US market, while remaining critical of the technologies. Later that month she told Bloomberg that a “handful” of such models were on the way, without providing a timeline.
In mid-2024 GM announced plans to bring PHEVs to market by 2027, at a time when it faced pressure to satisfy stricter federal tailpipe emissions standards that have since been lowered or removed by the Trump administration.
AutoForecast Solutions, an automotive data and consulting firm, expects GM to start offering PHEVs between late 2027 and early 2028, with a 70-mile electric-only range across its portfolio, according to Casey Selecman, the firm’s director of powertrain forecasts.
“GM has several PHEVs planned throughout the portfolio from the Equinox to the Silverado but has been very cautious in rolling them out due to fears of customer technology preference changes that have burned them in the past,” Selecman said.
Anderson would not discuss possible products or the timing of GM’s first new hybrid.
“You can see, without me saying what our future plans are, where the customers are clamoring for these things and really, really going for them,” he said. “We want to meet them where they want things.”
Hybrid sales in the US have risen as EV demand dims, petrol prices stay elevated and more models reach the market — a segment GM has been absent from.
Cox Automotive reported that hybrid sales in the second quarter of this year rose 23% year on year to a record 16.3% of US sales between April and June. EVs accounted for roughly 5.8% of sales over the same period, according to Cox.
Automakers are bringing out a growing number of hybrid variants. Broadly, these pair a conventional petrol engine with electric motors and a battery to deliver improved fuel economy and, often, better performance.
The compact crossover/SUV and mid-size segments are the fastest-growing hybrid categories in the US, Cox said.
“Hybrid vehicles continue to be the clearest growth story in the electrified market,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox’s director of industry insights, said during a presentation last week.
Several hybrid types are currently sold in the US. Traditional hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, rely heavily on electrified engine technologies, while PHEVs offer a defined all-electric range before an engine takes over.
Extended-range electric vehicles, or “series hybrids,” drive like an EV but use an engine essentially as a generator to power the electric motors that move the vehicle.
Combining two powertrains adds complexity and cost — an argument GM has used against hybrids — yet many consumers appear willing to pay for it as hybrid sales keep climbing.
GM currently sells only one hybrid, a version of its Chevrolet Corvette. The Detroit automaker’s last significant hybrid push was the Chevrolet Volt plug-in, which was discontinued in 2019.
Its crosstown rivals, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis, have turned to suppliers to bring hybrids to market faster.
Anderson said GM’s approach “will be a mix” of internal and external technologies, decided on cost, segment and product.
“We’re deliberate because, usually for strategic reasons, we need to control our own destiny. We need to control our own timing,” he said. “Or, if it’s commodity, go get it. Go get the best price you can.”
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