American legacy automaker General Motors has just cut its electric vehicle sales and production guidance for this year due to slower-than-expected uptake, GM Authority reports.
Slow EV adoption forces GM to trim 2024 sales target
General Motors announced a new sales and production estimate for its electric vehicle offerings in 2024.
During a Deutsche Bank investor event on Tuesday, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson declared that the company now expects to produce 200,000 to 250,000 EVs this year.
GM emphasized plans to produce EVs depending on the demand, which it says is still surging. However, the growth has been slower than the industry had expected.
“So at the lower end of that, and I think it reflects the momentum that we have in the business.”
GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson
Previous target
In hindsight, GM originally planned to produce 400,000 electric vehicles in 2024.
It later cut this production estimate to 250,000 to 300,000 EVs.
The American legacy automaker further reduced its EV production estimate to 200,000 to 250,000 units.
Interestingly, this EV production forecast reduction came after GM CEO Mary Barra declared 2024 as “the year of execution” earlier this year.
In 2023, its EV sales reached only 75,883 units. This result fell short of its set target of at least 100,000 EV sales in the same period.
Industrywide forecast
General Motors projects US electric vehicles to account for approximately 8% of the industry. It apparently indicates a notable gap from the 10% many are expecting.
On the other hand, CFO Jacobson remains optimistic that electric vehicles will be “variable profit-positive” at the lower-end 200,000 production target. He noted that the company still expects this to transpire sometime in the fourth quarter of the year.
Notably, GM plans to launch a wide range of new electric vehicle models this year. One of these models is the Chevy Equinox EV, which just started deliveries in May, following the Blazer EV and Silverado EV in the brand’s latest BEV lineup.
The Chevy Equinox EV is set to become the cheapest model in its segment when it arrives later this year, with a $35,000 price tag. GM will also introduce the next-gen Bolt EV in 2024 ahead of its official launch in 2025.
In separate news, GM’s board ratified a $6 billion share repurchase plan on Tuesday as it seeks to boost electric vehicle profitability.
