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

General Motors will introduce hybrid vehicles into its U.S. lineup, the automaker confirmed, as sales of hybrids surge amid soft demand for all-electric vehicles and persistent high fuel prices.

Mike Anderson, GM's vice president of propulsion engineering, said hybrids are "part of 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 CEO Mary Barra said in January that the company was studying both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and traditional hybrids for the U.S. market but offered no timeline. In mid-2024, GM announced plans to introduce PHEVs by 2027, though that timeline occurred under now-eliminated federal tailpipe emissions pressure. AutoForecast Solutions expects GM to begin offering PHEVs in late 2027 to early 2028 with a 70-mile electric range across its portfolio, according to Casey Selecman, director of powertrain forecasts.

The shift marks a reversal for GM, which largely abandoned hybrids this decade to pursue an "all-in" strategy on all-electric vehicles. Anderson said the company's "long-term vision is an all-electric future" but acknowledged "it's going to be a journey that involves technology diversity."

U.S. hybrid sales jumped 23% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to a year earlier, reaching a record 16.3% of total vehicle sales from April through June, according to Cox Automotive. Electric vehicle sales accounted for 5.8% of the market. Compact crossovers and mid-size vehicles represent the fastest-growing hybrid segments.

GM currently offers only one hybrid model, a version of the Chevrolet Corvette. Its last significant push into hybrids ended when the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid was discontinued in 2019. Ford Motor and Stellantis have leaned on external suppliers to accelerate hybrid market entry.

Anderson said GM's strategy will combine internal and external technologies based on cost, segment and product needs. "We're deliberate because, usually for strategic reasons, we need to control our own destiny. We need to control our own timing. Or, if it's commodity, go get it," he said.