General Motors plans to introduce hybrid models into its U.S. lineup, the company confirmed, as sales of all-electric vehicles slow and hybrid popularity rises amid high gas prices and regulatory changes.
Mike Anderson, GM's vice president of propulsion engineering, reconfirmed the automaker's hybrid plans but declined to discuss timing for such vehicles, which had previously been expected as soon as next year. "It's fair to say that [hybrids are] part of the plan," Anderson told CNBC. "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 largely been absent from the hybrid market this decade, instead going "all-in" on all-electric vehicles. But amid lackluster EV demand, industry deregulation and increased hybrid popularity, Anderson said the company needs to meet customer demand wherever it may be. "Our long-term vision is an all-electric future," he said. "That's the end state, but it's going to be a journey that involves technology diversity."
GM CEO Mary Barra in January said the automaker was still studying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for its U.S. lineup as well as traditional hybrids, and told Bloomberg a "handful" of such models were coming. In mid-2024, GM announced plans to introduce PHEVs by 2027, but those plans came under pressure to meet stricter federal tailpipe emissions standards that have since been lowered or eliminated.
AutoForecast Solutions, an automotive data and consulting firm, expects GM to begin offering PHEVs in late 2027 to early 2028 with a 70-mile EV range "throughout its portfolio," according to Casey Selecman, 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 declined to discuss potential products or timing for GM's first new hybrid model. "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."