[ad_1]
General Motors’ about-face on plug-in hybrids is good news for the company, its customers and the environment. Now the automaker must execute the plan. That’s easier said than done.
Responding to the automaker’s stumbling launch of its new electric vehicles, CEO Mary Barra, at the end of January, said GM would offer plug-in hybrids in the United States, reversing an earlier decision to focus on EVs without hybrids as an intermediate step.
Plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs, combine a conventional internal combustion engine — also called ICE — with an electric battery powerful enough to allow the car to frequently be driven emissions-free.
PHEVs aren’t a panacea. There’s no free lunch in engineering: A vehicle with a second energy source is more complicated and expensive than an ICE engine alone. That, and confidence in the Ultium batteries and electric motors GM had developed, led the automaker to announce its leap to EVs, despite the fact that it had pioneered PHEV technology more than a decade ago with the Chevrolet Volt.
More:Drivers of some plug-in hybrid vehicle brands take charging seriously. Why that matters.
More:Time’s running out for GM to get its EVs right — and billions of dollars are on the line
“I was always skeptical of going all-EV with no fallback plan,” Cox Automotive executive analyst Michelle Krebs said. “The road to electrification is very rocky.”
PHEVs are a small player in the U.S. Registrations rose 51% for the first 11 months of 2023, the latest figures that are available, according to S&P Global Mobility. Still, they accounted for just 1.8% of total vehicle sales: 251,000 units. EVs, in comparison, hit 7.4% of U.S. sales and 1.03 million vehicles.
The Strong Plug-In Hybrid Alliance, which lobbies for PHEVs with long ranges on electric power, argues the vehicles are very effective at reducing emissions and oil consumption, while also appealing to customers not ready to make the leap to electric power alone.
In addition to pioneering PHEV technology in the U.S., GM has continued to develop and build them in China, where demand is strong.
“Bringing PHEVs back to North America speaks to the company’s ability to be flexible and make changes on the path to zero emissions,” said S&P Global Mobility analyst Stephanie Brinley. “GM’s goal of offering a zero emissions vehicle fleet hasn’t changed. The global company has a massive toolbox; the decision to revisit PHEVs in North America shows they will use the whole kit as needed to get where they want to go.”
GM must execute this course correction flawlessly.
GM had a head start with Volt
GM called the Volt an “extended range electric vehicle,” but that’s indistinguishable from PHEV to anybody but an engineer.
But it lost any first-mover advantage when it canceled a planned Volt SUV and eventually dropped the car, and the technology. Customers may see Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC as latecomers compared with brands that have sold PHEVs all along, including Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota.
A final concern: Consumer Reports recently issued a scathing indictment of PHEV reliability, saying they had more than double the problems of ICE vehicles. The complication of having two separate power sources makes PHEVs more susceptible to faults, CR director of automotive testing Jake Fisher said.
What will go PHEV first, and when?
GM hasn’t said when the first of its new PHEVs will debut in America, or which models will offer the technology. Even vehicle architectures that are sold with PHEV power in China will need engineering to make them suitable for American customers and regulations.
In addition, the biggest impact on fuel use and emissions will come from deploying the technology on larger vehicles that GM sells in the U.S. but not China — pickups and large SUVs.
“One of the first PHEV models will likely be the next generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups, which are due out in late 2026,” said Sam Fiorani, of consultant AutoForecast Solutions. “Needing to balance out the big V8s in the pickups and SUVs, GM is likely to target the hybrid and plug-in models from Ford, Toyota, and Ram.”
Compact and family-hauling SUVs ranging from the Chevrolet Equinox to Traverse and Buick Enclave should get a look, too.
GM’s initial plan to leap straight from internal combustion engines to all-electric power was a bold gamble, but it rolled snake eyes. Doubling down would have been foolish. Recalibrating with a technology GM’s proven it can deliver is the smart move.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
[ad_2]
Source link