On Wednesday, at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference in Manalapan, Florida, GM CFO Paul Jacobson discussed the upcoming changes in regulations as we await the second term of President Donald Trump.
Paul Jacobson
“In a world where compliance is eased, you could see where you don’t necessarily need as much plug-in, you might not need as much (battery electric vehicles) as well,” Jacobson said, per the Detroit Free Press. “But we’ll cross that bridge,” Jacobson said this just weeks after he said Trump’s victory won’t alter the planned trajectory of the GM electric vehicle strategy in November.
We reported last month that President Trump and his team, in cooperation with a Republican-controlled Congress, are planning to eliminate the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
Jacobson still sounds confident in GM’s growing EV market share. “As you look at our EV products, we’re actually stimulating demand at a higher rate than where the industry is,” said Jacobson, touting the GM’s EV sales are second-only to Tesla in the U.S. and expects to end 2024 with 12 percent of EV market share. “As we get into the 2025 guidance, we still expect to have that $2 billion to $4 billion of profit improvement in EVs, and we’ll see where the volume settles out.”
However, he’s bullish on ICE-powered vehicles remaining the backbone of GM’s profits. “We’ve got two lines of business: One that is mature and doing really, really well, and we have full-size SUV refreshes coming very, very soon. We’ve seen the order of magnitude improvement we’ve had in the midsize and small crossovers; we think that can continue in the full-size SUVs,” said Jacobson, referring to the gas-powered lineup of vehicles. “Then we have an up-and-coming EV business. That’s a good, expanding business, we’ve got to get it to that core profitability, and I think we’ll be fine, and it’ll give us time to balance to the consumer response” to any elimination of the tax credit.
What about the new plug-in hybrids in North America we were promised in Spring? “We’ve always said that the plug-in hybrids were really … an option for compliance with regulatory standards,” said Jacobson. “So in the event that those change and you don’t need that or they’re lessened, then maybe that could be something we could look at: Getting down some of those models.” He also pointed out that GM diesel trucks are actually more efficient than hybrid rivals, as is the case for the Duramax-powered Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra compared to the hybrid Ford F-150.
As for the possibility of GM suspending production of ICE models altogether, Jacobson said its internal combustion lineup is “a business we can keep up and extend.” However, he still sees EVs as “the future long term.” Whether that means GM is sticking to its plan of being all-electric by 2035 remains to be seen, but Jacobson’s rhetoric implies that GM isn’t in a hurry to abandon internal combustion in the near future.
Comments
This is the type of common sense approach many of us have asked for on this site for YEARS now.
Wow, 10 straight downvotes in just a few minutes. I’m guessing the EV Discord folks are showing up for this article.
Yeah I am starting to get confused as to how this voting thing works here. Ehdit0r here gets plenty of upvotes for his comment about the urgency of GM needing to stay competitive in the EV field and I add to that (albeit more in an angry tone of how they don’t learn their lessons) and man I got tarred and feathered for it.
I am not defending EVs here. Anyone that knows me on these blogs know my skepticism and my stance on them. But I do get concerned GM and other democracy origin auto manufacturers aren’t doing enough to stay competitive. Even if EVs don’t ultimately land up being the answer, the last thing you want is to be left behind and land up like Kodak or Blockbuster.
Idk, maybe because it’s a pro-GM site and the majority of your comments are negative towards GM. Maybe that’s not really popular with the visitors of the site? Just a thought.
So being pro-GM means they should be complacent like they were in 2008 and land in Bankruptcy? Only this time potentially being permanently noncompetitive beyond repair where not even a bailout will save them?
Funny. I guess my loving dad scolding and teaching me to make better financial decisions should have been met with disapproval and downvotes rather than genuine concern and realization that he cared for me. So therefore me being genuinely concerned for GM as an American who loves his Cadillac makes me anti-GM. What a world we live in but whatever.
The dorks from some EV Discord come over here to troll sometimes.
I promise there’s a whole world out there beyond silly internet votes.
@BlazerSSEV Oh we don’t care about the downvotes. We standby what we said out of concern for GM regardless of votes. But at the end of the day, GM will continue to do GM and make headscratching decisions that lack common sense. Where those decisions lead them whether its success or failure we will find out eventually and no amount of votes will change that fact. Hopefully the former but given their track record of nearsighted vision I can’t say I am that hopeful. But we’ll see. I won’t discredit that their products have certainly come a long way and while long in the tooth, I do love my XT5.
This isn’t common sense and it’s not a win. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
China isn’t going to stop flooding the global market with cheap EVs and once they figure out how to sell those cheap EVs in the US by bypassing the tariffs, it’s over for GM, Ford, and everyone else because they will have spent that time focusing on short-term profits instead of trying to build creating good, cheap EVs for the market long term.
Also, we aren’t getting sedans, or the Camaro, or Pontiac back, or any of the asks that people here want with this decision.
In reality, we’re getting more trucks and SUVs because those are make the most money. And they’re not going to suddenly become more affordable.
Deep down, you all know I’m right.
China can flood the market with a billion cheap EVs but America has already figured out that Evs aren’t ready for the big time. Now, if those EVs were ICEs or hybrids, uh oh…
The Average Buyer is Not Ready for the Big EV Push, Give the Buyers what they want and Stop Propping up the EV Market with Tax Dollars!!!
An EV only was never the answer, at least not anytime soon. It’s forced BS by the WEF and hedge funds with an agenda and EVs help China from raw materials to manufacturing to their reliance on cheap coal. You know what America has? Oil and natural gas. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be adding options and new tech, it’s to say we should have ALWAYS had a choice and MORE options, not less.
I Know that’s right and trump will finally put a stop to the WEF minions.
It’s great to have Donald “JR Ewing” Trump back in power!!
GM has a choice to figure out how to make their EVs affordable now or accept and allow the Chinese to mow them down here as they are doing now in the mainland. They didn’t learn their lesson by giving them their technology, they didn’t learn their lesson when they literally pulled out of every other market to just focus on China, and they don’t seem to be learning their lesson now with Jacobsen “refusing to accept” reality. As sad as it may be, at some point one has to let Darwin do his job if GM simply refuses to adapt to new realities. But taxpayers funding their electric cars cannot be a sustainable plan forever. Its already a known fact that the main factor holding EVs back is affordability and if GM refuses to deliver here then the Chinese will. As I said before, the Equinox and soon Bolt are a good start.
CHIna isn’t flooding the US market with CHIna EVs as Biden ramped up tariffs on them. Europe has now done similar.
GM does make plenty of cheap junky CHInese EVs with Wuling.
Never ask a financial guy about environmental regulations. CARB regulations are stricter than the EPA. Trump’s administration has no authority over CARB, so for GM to meet the CARB mandates to sell in California and 13 other states it would still have to meet CARB. Jacobson can go count beans.
Federal law always has authority over state law. Trump’s got the supreme court to overturn the asinine California waiver.
Thought trumplicans believed in states rights? Or is it only for when the states bend over for them?
Trumplicans did never worry too much about being utter hypocrites.
You would know …
If you want to drive a an electric car, you should be able to drive an electric car. If you want to drive a V8, you should be able to drive a V8.
“If I want to dump my garbage into my neighbors house, I should be able to.”
That’s what you sound like. It’s like people saying they should be able to smoke inside public buildings and subject others to toxins.
Isn’t that what liberal hypocrites do when they use their carbon spewing private jets to go to one BS climate rally to another?
People don’t want EVs regardless. Tech that’s not yet ready for prime time, by a long shot. GM can keep building them and watch them sit.
Keep lying to yourself Beachy. Hate to break it to you but it won’t make you any less wrong.
***When DJT GOAT POTUS eases nonsensical EPA regulations.
Build back better, ha.
Finally. Lets bring back carburetors too. and get rid of catalytic converters, and eliminate smog checks and vehicle inspections. By gum, no one needs no computer chips in cars either.
We want the Camaro back as a V8. Won’t get it because GM is incompetent.
Omg YES !!!!
The buggy whip, wooden wheel factories felt the same way… about 100 years ago.
I’ll give them 10 more years to normalize charging and solve cold weather and range issues. Meanwhile I filled up my ’24 AWD Loaded Terrain in 3 min @ $3.10/gal.
Estimated Range: 472 miles.
” Bu Bye, Gretas . “
Great I just charged up my EV at home, and it only took me a few seconds to plug-in, then I went inside and hung out with family and watched tv. And only cost me $0.12/kwh or about $10 for 300miles vs probably $30-$40 dollars for your gasomobile.
Fine, just hike the price of all ICE vehicles to supplement the cost of the EV trajectory while the umpa lumpa is still in office and until the pendulum swings back! LOL
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I did not see any comments about energy infrastructure in the US or Canada. It is much easier to find a gas station than an electric charging station as you drive across America. And when you find that energy renewing station, compare the time element to fill up.
Easy to find chargers. The cars tell you where they are via the navigation system.
Yeah, he’s just being careful with words so not make the trumplicans angry at GM. The incoming administration is going to be vengeful against anyone they’ve identified as “the enemy within”. But automakers are already lobbying the new administration not to change the regulations or incentives.
GM discontinued what still is the most advanced EV – the second generation Chevy VOLT !
There is no car built, ICE, Hybrid, extended range hybrid (i.e. Prius Prime/ RAV4 Prime), or apparently anything on the drawing boards, that matches the range, convenience and fuel reduction achieved with the Voltec system. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it now – thank you Bob Lutz for your vision and persistence in pushing the development envelope at GM !
Here we are again. I love how people criticize GM. They will go bankrupt. They are not competitive. And on and on. It’s gotten old since the beginning of time. Fact is I will be buying a bolt euv used when my volt no longer runs. I have 199,000 miles by the way. It is as simple as this. I like GM vehicles. I’m a Chevy guy. GM is doing the right thing. Like it or not it’s a business. If the next administration relaxes rules let GM build more ice vehicles. They will still offer electric vehicles for those who want them. Plenty of people are buying 49 thousand dollar GM ice vehicles. They are buying Lyriqs and equinoxes. But they are selling the heck out of ice trucks. Tahoes and Escaldes. Chevy trax selling very well.all of their truck and crossover offerings across all of their brands the own the market. So they are doing fine. Their stock price is much better than ford. Stellantis. Stellantis is in trouble so is Nissan. GM is doing just fine.ford is spending a ton of money on recalls but consumers are still buying fords. Kia Hyundai are also doing great. But they have their problems. I don’t love their design language. It’s too severe for me. I’ll take GM and their smooth styling. The lyriq is the most beautiful vehicle in its class built by anyone. If I want a small crossover I’ll take a trax for affordability and feature for the money.