After ditching its hybrids, GM says it needs to build more hybrids

Enlarge / This is the Voltec plug-in hybrid powertrain from GM. It combines an internal combustion engine with a lithium ion battery pack. Most of the time the motor charges the battery, but sometimes it’s more efficient to let the motor send power to the front wheels instead. (credit: General Motors)

In 2020, General Motors went all-in on its Ultium battery platform and battery electric vehicles to meet future energy and pollution regulations. By that time, it had already killed the Chevrolet Volt and its highly efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain. Now, it’s time to bring back the PHEV, according to GM CEO Mary Barra.

“Our forward plan includes bringing our plug-in hybrid technology to select vehicles in North America,” Barra said during a call on Tuesday morning to announce GM’s financial results for Q4 2023.

Despite US EV adoption growing by about 50 percent year over year in 2023, some analysts and automotive dealership groups have complained that BEVs are too difficult to sell. In November, this culminated with an open letter from several auto dealer groups to President Joe Biden, calling on him to slow down new fuel efficiency regulations that would require automakers to sell about four times as many BEVs to offset the emissions created by their internal combustion engine powertrains.