Electric vehicle sales have grown considerably over the past few years, but that climb hasn’t alleviated the challenges automakers face with production, development, and raw materials costs. Realizing the uphill adventure ahead of it, General Motors announced that it would regroup and offer plug-in hybrids to fill some of the gaps in EV demand, and we now know the dates behind that plan.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra told The Detroit News that the automaker was “timing the launches to help us comply with the more stringent fuel economy and tailpipe emission standards.” GM will begin rolling out new PHEVs in 2027 to align with changes to emissions rules, which will become more restrictive over time. General Motors was one of the earliest movers to announce a commitment to going electric, and the rules have changed since then.
Citing charging as one of the challenges the automaker needs to overcome, Barra said, “We do see that hybrids will be part of the solution. How long hybrids will be part of the solution depends on how quickly we get a robust charging infrastructure.” As a note, GM hasn't sold a PHEV since the Chevy Volt's discontinuation in 2019.
Early adopters are usually people who are willing to look past a car’s quirks to get the latest and greatest, but automakers now face a general car-buying public not as happy to deal with the annoyances. Despite having some downsides, plug-in hybrids make it easier to get the electric driving experience while offering a gas engine for backup if the range runs dry.
Guidehouse Inc. analyst Sam Abuelsamid told The News that GM’s timeline might seem leisurely, but it allows the company to develop models that align with buyers’ needs and desires. “Ideally, they would probably like to have it sooner, but, from a practical standpoint, they’ve got to design it into the vehicles … and it’s got to align with vehicle program timing.”