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General Motors’s goal of producing 1 million electric vehicles in North America by the end of next year is mired in doubt after comments from CEO Mary Barra on Monday.
“We’re seeing a bit of a slowdown right now. We won’t get to a million just because the market is not developing, but it will get there,” Barra said Monday at a CNBC event. “We’re going to be guided by the customer.”
For years, the Detroit automaker has said it will endeavor to increase its North American production capacity to build 1 million EVs by 2025, even as it rolled back short-term guidance and some investments. Barra has previously said that GM will “build to demand” and that the company’s goals are reliant on consumers accepting — and buying — more EVs.
A spokesperson for GM told Reuters that the company would no longer reiterate its EV production capacity plans for 2025. “We’re being flexible,” they said, adding that “we will build to demand.”
The production pullback comes despite EV sales growing in recent months. In the second quarter, GM’s EV sales were up 34% from last quarter and up 40% year-over-year, with 21,930 cars sold. That success is likely partly due to its successful relationship with Costco’s Auto Program. In March, Barra told Yahoo!Finance that GM will sell more EVs in the U.S. than any other company, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, in the future.
Barra said she likes to tell people to “get an electric vehicle and drive it,” calling them a “lot of fun.” The automaker is reportedly working on a clutch pedal for its EVs, which would allow drivers to make real-time adjustments to their cars and ensure a smooth ride.
The automaker recently overcame a series of issues, including some EV battery production problems involving the switch to its Ultium platform. GM has also been given a $500 million federal grant to convert its assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan, to produce EVs.
GM reports its second-quarter earnings on July 23.
— Ben Kesslen contributed to this report.