General Motors says it will build hybrids at its Lansing, Michigan, factory, and Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources, that the first in line are its three-row SUVs: the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. If you shop for a family hauler, that's the news: GM's most popular people-movers may soon come with a fuel-saving option it has barely offered before.
What is confirmed and what is not
GM confirmed the Lansing plan in a statement issued after Reuters published its story, saying it plans to invest in its Lansing Delta Township assembly plant to prepare for hybrid production, and adding that "details about nameplates and timing will be shared closer to launch." The SUV names come from Reuters, which cited people familiar with the plans. We read Reuters' text as carried by Investing.com and Yahoo Finance, and GM hasn't confirmed the names to us. All three models are built in Lansing, so the report fits, but GM hasn't put its name to it. Reuters couldn't learn launch dates, and we also don't know pricing, fuel economy or whether these will be plug-in or regular hybrids.
A long way from all-electric
GM spent years building one of the broadest EV lineups in the country, and today it sells exactly one low-volume hybrid in the US, the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. The first sign of a rethink came in early 2024, when CEO Mary Barra said on an earnings call that plug-in hybrids would return. Since then GM has kept saying hybrids are coming without naming vehicles. On last week's earnings call Barra said GM would offer hybrids across multiple segments, adding, "It's not going to be additional (capital expenditures) and engineering." One executive told CNBC, "we're not tone-deaf to our consumers."
The market explains the shift. In the third quarter, hybrids made up 16% of US car sales, while EVs held roughly 6%. Hybrids sat near 2% for years before this jump.
Where GM stands against rivals
GM is behind Ford, whose own hybrid lineup is fairly narrow but sells in large numbers in the Maverick Hybrid and F-150 Hybrid. Stellantis has also trailed in regular hybrids, while Honda, Hyundai and especially Toyota sell more of them. GM's US market share fell to 16.6% in the first nine months of the year from 17.4% a year earlier, while Toyota and Honda gained, Reuters reported. So GM is arriving late to a crowded field.
The detail to watch is the spec sheet. As the InsideEVs report points out, hybrids now vary so much that saying you'll build one means little without numbers. A mild hybrid and a plug-in with real electric range are very different buys.
Next up: GM's promised nameplate and timing details, and above all whether these SUVs get plug-in or mild hybrid systems. If it were your driveway, which one would you want?
Sources
- 1.GM Didn't Want Hybrids. Now It's Putting Them In Its Biggest SUVs: Report · InsideEVs
- 2.Exclusive-GM plans to offer hybrid SUVs in strategic pivot (Reuters, by Kalea Hall and David Shepardson) · Investing.com, carrying Reuters
- 3.Exclusive-GM plans to offer hybrid SUVs in strategic pivot (Reuters) · Yahoo Finance, carrying Reuters
- 4.General Motors Stock (GM) Revs Up 6% as It Gets Set to Launch Hybrid SUVs · TipRanks
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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