General Motors delays North American EV production goal by six months

General Motors has pushed back its previous plan of producing 400,000 electric vehicles in North America to the first half of 2024.

During the company’s third-quarter earnings call on October 25, CEO Mary Barra indicated the six-month delay resulted from slower-than-expected battery manufacturing progress. Barra said hiring and training 1,000 employees at the company’s EV battery plant in Warren, Ohio, had taken “a little longer than expected” and added that battery pack assembly had taken “a little bit longer also.”

“All of our 2023 launches are progressing well,” Barra said. “However, due to a slightly slower launch of cell and pack production than we expected, our plan is now to produce 400,000 EVs in North America over the course of 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024.”

In February, General Motors announced plans to deliver around 400,000 EVs in North America through next year and shared a goal of producing 1 million EVs through 2025.

The automaker reported strong third-quarter results, including record revenue of $41.9 billion. GM has also grown its share of the U.S. electric vehicle market to 8% through record-breaking sales of its popular Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV.

“Our dealers and customers have embraced the Bolt because of its range, technology and value, helping it outsell Ford’s Mach-E by more than two to one in September,” wrote Barra in a letter to shareholders. Barra also shared GM’s plan to increase production of the two models from 40,000 units to 70,000 units next year.

Barra also said GM’s upcoming EV models, like the GMC Sierra EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Silverado EV, and Blazer EV, are “cornerstones of our strategy to rapidly grow EV volumes by winning in high-volume segments.”

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