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General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra walked back expectations for her company’s electric vehicle program, the latest such move by a legacy automaker as momentum slows for plug-in models.
Barra told CNBC at an event Monday that GM won’t have production capacity in place to build one million EVs at the end of next year, which was the previous target. The CEO said customer demand will dictate how fast the company can get to the one million mark for annual sales of EVs, and that currently it’s seeing a slowdown in deliveries of them.
Those comments echoed remarks Barra made in December when she said that meeting a target for an all-electric fleet by 2035 will depend on consumer acceptance.
Slowing growth could be painful for GM, which just recently overcame EV battery production problems and has already delayed the opening of an electric pickup truck plant in suburban Detroit. The carmaker is in the process of ramping up production of its electric Chevrolet Blazer mid-sized SUV and smaller Equinox model, which the company hopes will boost sales.
US deliveries of EVs were flat in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, but still up 11% over the first quarter, according to market research firm Cox Automotive.
GM originally set a goal of having production capabilities in place for a million EVs, but said they could only sell that many if the market materializes.
“We won’t get to a million just because the market’s not developing, but it will get there,” Barra said.
GM’s shares rose less than 1% Monday in New York, bringing the 2024 gain to 37%.
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