GM says hybrid vehicles are coming: 'We're not tone deaf to our customers'

General Motors plans to introduce hybrid vehicles into its U.S. lineup as sales of hybrids accelerate and demand for all-electric vehicles cools.

Mike Anderson, GM's vice president of propulsion engineering, confirmed the plan but declined to specify timing. "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," Anderson told CNBC.

GM largely abandoned hybrids over the past decade to focus resources on all-electric vehicles. The company's last major hybrid push, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, ended in 2019. Currently, GM offers only one hybrid model: a version of the Chevrolet Corvette.

CEO Mary Barra said in January that GM was studying both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and traditional hybrids, though she remained skeptical of the technologies. She indicated a "handful" of such models were coming without providing a timeline.

In mid-2024, GM announced plans to introduce PHEVs by 2027, when the company faced pressure to meet stricter federal tailpipe emissions standards. The Trump administration has since lowered or eliminated those rules.

AutoForecast Solutions expects GM to begin offering PHEVs in late 2027 to early 2028 with a 70-mile electric range across its portfolio. Casey Selecman, director of powertrain forecasts for the firm, noted GM has several PHEVs planned across models from the Equinox to the Silverado, but has moved cautiously due to concerns about customer preference shifts.

U.S. hybrid vehicle sales jumped 23% from April through June 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier, reaching a record 16.3% of total sales, according to Cox Automotive. Electric vehicles represented roughly 5.8% of sales. The fastest-growing hybrid segments are compact crossovers and mid-size vehicles.

"Hybrid vehicles continue to be the clearest growth story in the electrified market," said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox's director of industry insights.

Traditional hybrids combine a gas engine with electric motors and a battery for improved fuel economy. PHEVs offer all-electric driving range before switching to gas power. Extended-range electric vehicles operate like EVs but use an engine as a generator to power electric motors.

Anderson said GM's approach will mix internal and external technologies based on cost, segment and product. "We're deliberate because, usually for strategic reasons, we need to control our own destiny," he stated. Ford and Stellantis have moved faster by relying on suppliers for hybrid development.