General Motors shocked the world in 2021 when CEO Mary Barra announced that it would go zero-emissions by 2035. One of the first milestones on that road was coming up soon: GM planned to have the production capacity to build one million EVs per year in North America by the end of 2025. But, today, during an interview with CNBC, Barra announced that GM will not hit its goal.

“We’re seeing a little bit of a slowdown here, we won’t get to a million, because the market just isn’t developing. But we will get there,” Barra said on CNBC.

Although General Motors is having some of its best months ever for EV sales, it’s no secret that the brand has struggled with its electric vehicle transition. The launches of most of its Ultium-based vehicles have been plagued with software, manufacturing and initial quality problems. Whether it’s infotainment screens that won’t work on the Blazer or Lyriq, or GMC Hummer trucks that brick themselves at DC fast chargers, it’s not been a smooth rollout for GM’s electric future. There have also been production issues. GM has faced setbacks at manufacturing plants for both EV parts and the vehicles themselves. 

Notably, a lot of GM’s woes have to do with the software on its EVs. Software is something that Barra admits is a really important part of General Motors’s electrified future. Getting it right is key, and so far has proved difficult.

“General Motors, moving to an all-electric future, almost what’s more important, is that the vehicle really is a software platform,” she said. But GM’s track record with software isn’t great, and all of its brands have suffered from some not-so-great press and customer feedback.

Still, Barra remains optimistic. Despite her “we will be guided by the customer,” statement— which could be interpreted as the company pulling back on EVs—she assured viewers that General Motors will get to its production goals eventually. As charging infrastructure improves and as more buyers gain firsthand experience with EVs, Barra insists that the market will continue to grow.

“The next ten, eleven, twelve years is going to be pretty transformative in the way people move,” said Barra. 

Perhaps Barra is right. Although General Motors has had bad press, it does seem like it is genuinely trying to right the ship. Updates and price cuts to the Blazer EV have made for an increase in sales. The all-new Equinox EV has had strong initial reviews, and a relatively low price point should get more buyers to consider EVs. Even InsideEVs own Tim Levin thought the hubbub over the company ditching Apple CarPlay was overblown, and said GM’s homegrown Google-based solution was just fine.

Barra didn’t comment on when GM planned to hit its one million EV production capacity goal. So we’ll just have to hope they get there eventually.

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com

General Motors (GM) has recently announced that they⁢ will not be able to ‍hit their target‌ of producing 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025. This⁤ decision comes ‍as a result of the slow development of the electric vehicle market, which GM ⁣believes ‍is not progressing⁤ at ​the pace originally ‌anticipated.

In a statement, ‍GM CEO Mary Barra expressed her disappointment in​ the lack of ‍growth in the EV ‌market, citing factors such as high‍ production costs, limited infrastructure, and consumer hesitancy as key barriers to achieving the company’s ambitious target. Barra emphasized that‍ while GM remains committed to transitioning to electric⁣ vehicles, the current state of the market does not support⁣ meeting their initial goal.

Despite this setback, GM remains focused on expanding their EV lineup and increasing‌ production capacity ⁢in ‍order to meet‌ growing consumer demand for⁢ electric vehicles. The company⁣ has already announced plans⁢ to invest $27 billion in electric ‍and autonomous vehicles ⁢through 2025, with the goal of transitioning to ‌an all-electric future.

GM’s ⁤decision not to ‌hit their 1 million EV target in 2025 reflects‌ the challenges and ‌uncertainties‍ facing ⁢the electric⁣ vehicle industry. While government incentives and regulatory measures are helping to drive the adoption of electric ‍vehicles, significant⁣ obstacles​ remain in‌ terms of infrastructure, cost, and consumer acceptance. As a result, automakers like GM are facing difficulties ‍in scaling up their EV​ production to meet ambitious targets.

In conclusion, GM’s⁤ announcement serves as a wake-up⁣ call‍ for⁣ the electric vehicle‌ industry as a whole. ​While the transition to electric vehicles is inevitable, it is clear that significant work still needs to be done to overcome the barriers⁣ to market development. Moving forward, collaboration between​ automakers, governments,⁣ and other stakeholders will be essential ‍in accelerating the growth of the EV market and achieving a sustainable future for transportation.