Don't tell the Biden administration, but it's almost as if the free market is capable of arriving at the most efficient solutions by itself...
The latest example of this is General Motors, who posted better than expected earnings earlier this week and also said that it plans on changing its product lineup to include more hybrid vehicles, drifting away from pure electric vehicles.
CEO Mary Barra said on this week's earnings call: “Let me be clear, GM remains committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from our light-duty vehicles by 2035, but, in the interim, deploying plug-in technology in strategic segments will deliver some of the environment or environmental benefits of EVs as the nation continues to build this charging infrastructure.”
Barra announced plans to introduce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in North America on select models, aiming to comply with stricter federal fuel economy regulations. This shift mirrors industry trends, as automakers increasingly adopt hybrid technology to meet consumer demands and federal standards, following GM's main rivals who already offer hybrids and PHEVs, according to CNBC.
Barra hinted at GM's potential use of plug-in hybrid technology, similar to what it has implemented in China, the CNBC report said. Currently, GM's only hybrid in the U.S. is a traditional version of the Chevrolet Corvette. The company was a pioneer in plug-in electric vehicles with the Chevrolet Volt in the 2010s but discontinued it in 2019 due to demand and cost issues.
Originally, GM planned to transition from internal combustion engines to solely all-electric models. However, this change in strategy seems at odds with the industry's recent focus on EVs and the significant investments being made in this area, aligned with the Biden administration's efforts to increase EV usage in the U.S.
In other words, the automotive industry - which has now seen investment pulled from EV development by both major automakers that just struck massive extortion labor deals with the UAW - is screaming that pure electric vehicles don't make financial sense.