Automakers that pushed back EV goals and plans in 2024

Several leading automakers adjusted their electric vehicle (EV) goals and scaled back plans in 2024 as a response to sluggish consumer demand for EVs in the auto market.

Automakers aren’t abandoning EVs and continue to see them as an important part of their product line heading into the future, but have eased some of their previously announced EV production targets and altered some of their operational plans in response to consumer demand.

Carbuyers have stepped up their interest in hybrid vehicles in recent years, sales of which grew at a faster clip than EVs in 2023, according to data from S&P Global Mobility.

A study released in May 2024 by J.D. Power found that consumers were slightly less likely to consider buying an EV than they were in the prior year, with the leading reason for their apprehension being the lack of charging station availability.

Consumers’ interest in EVs has dipped slightly relative to hybrids over the last two years. (Staff photo by Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images / Getty Images)

HYBRID VEHICLE SALES REVVING UP AS EV DEMAND SPUTTERS

Here’s a look at how some leading automakers have shifted their EV plans during 2024.

General Motors

GM CEO Mary Barra said in July that the company was pushing back its Orion Assembly EV truck plant by six months until mid-2026 and that it plans to introduce plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2027.

In July, GM lowered its projected EV output for 2024 from an upper-end projection of 300,000 units to 250,000 units. It also declined to reiterate a target of 1 million units of EV production capacity in North America by the end of 2025.

GM shifted some of its EV-related production targets. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Toyota

The world’s largest automaker announced in October that it would postpone its plans to build EVs in the U.S. until 2026, after previously targeting late 2025, according to a report by Reuters.

The Nikkei business daily reported in September that Toyota also shifted plans to build 1 million EVs in 2026 instead of a previously announced target of 1.5 million. Toyota said in a statement that it still plans to make 1.5 million EVs per year by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030, but said the figures were benchmarks rather than targets.

VOLVO REVERSES GOAL TO MAKE ONLY EVS IN 2030

Volvo

The Swedish automaker announced in September that it would drop its plan to go all-electric by 2030, as it still expects to be making hybrid vehicles at that time.

The company said in a statement that it’s now aiming for 90% to 100% of its 2030 global sales volume to consist of fully electric EVs and plug-in hybrids, with the remaining zero to 10% of its lineup allowing “for a limited number of mild hybrid models to be sold, if needed.”

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