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

General Motors confirmed plans to introduce hybrid vehicles into its U.S. lineup, citing rising customer demand and a pullback in all-electric vehicle sales. Mike Anderson, GM's vice president of propulsion engineering, told CNBC that hybrids are "part of the plan" but declined to specify timing.

"We're not tone deaf to our customers," Anderson said. "We know what they want and we want to give that to them as quickly as we can."

GM largely abandoned the hybrid market this decade to focus on all-electric vehicles. The shift left the automaker absent from one of the fastest-growing segments in automotive sales. Cox Automotive reported that hybrid vehicle sales jumped 23% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, reaching 16.3% of total U.S. vehicle sales. By contrast, electric vehicles represented 5.8% of sales.

Anderson acknowledged the company's previous strategy but signaled a change in direction. "Our long-term vision is an all-electric future," he said. "That's our end state, but it's going to be a journey that involves technology diversity."

GM CEO Mary Barra said in January that the company was studying both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, and traditional hybrids for the U.S. market. She indicated a "handful" of such models were coming but provided no timeline. The company announced in mid-2024 that PHEVs would arrive by 2027, when stricter federal emissions standards were in effect. Those standards have since been lowered or eliminated by the Trump administration.

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, the firm's director of powertrain forecasts, noted that GM has several PHEVs planned "from the Equinox to the Silverado" but has moved cautiously due to past customer preference shifts.

The fastest-growing hybrid segments are compact crossover and mid-size SUVs. Cox Automotive reports hybrid vehicles "continue to be the clearest growth story in the electrified market."

GM currently offers one hybrid model, the Chevrolet Corvette. Its last major hybrid push, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in, ended in 2019. Competitors Ford and Stellantis have leaned on suppliers to bring hybrids to market faster.