General Motors’ ambitious goal of producing 1 million all-electric vehicles in North America by the end of 2025 is now uncertain, according to comments made by CEO Mary Barra on Monday. This production capacity target was one of the few remaining EV objectives that GM had not yet adjusted or withdrawn amid slower-than-expected demand for EVs.
“We won’t get to a million just because the market is not developing, but it will get there,” Barra said during a virtual CNBC CEO Council event. “We’re going to be guided by the customer.”
For over two years, GM maintained that it would have the production capacity for 1 million EVs in China and North America by 2025. Despite altering several other EV targets and product plans in the past year, the company has consistently upheld its North American capacity goal for EVs.
A GM spokesman clarified that the target pertained to production capacity, whereas Barra’s question was about actually producing 1 million EVs by 2025. Barra did not specifically address whether her comments referred to production or production capacity.
Following Barra’s remarks, the spokesman stated that the company would no longer reaffirm its EV production capacity plans for 2025, emphasizing that GM’s EV strategy remains flexible to align with market demand.
Additional details about GM’s EV plans may be disclosed when the company reports its second-quarter results on July 23.