GM and VW’s Electrified Future Does Not Depend on Hybrids

The two companies are moving full steam ahead on fully electric vehicles, a strategy that separates them from rival automakers. 

Electrification is a costly endeavor that requires significant up-front cost without an immediate return on the investment. That is the situation automakers find themselves in as they continue to juggle their traditional gasoline engine lineups with the expensive research and development programs focused on EV development. General Motors, for example, simultaneously funded the development of the C8 Corvette while also infusing their nascent EV program, which has thus far produced the Chevrolet Bolt, along with the promise of future vehicles. Combined with all the other projects demanding funding, not the least of which is

A recent article in The Detroit News sheds light on what programs automakers are cutting in the race to bring fully electric vehicles to market. For GM and VW, those vehicles are hybrids. Several automakers, like Ford and Toyota, established themselves as hybrid manufacturers and are still committed to them. GM and VW now view them as half-steps not worthy of their time and money.

For the two companies it’s a matter of where they want to spend their money. But GM’s new stance is at odds with where they were just a few short years ago, when they were promoting plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt. And the company currently sells a standard hybrid in the form of the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid (pictured above). The company also used to tout the Volt as an important part of its lineup. Ten years ago, they were confident their hybrid pickup trucks were also the wave of the future. And until recently GM claimed to stand behind passenger cars like the Cruze and Impala. With the exception of the Malibu hybrid, those products are now relegated to the dustbin of GM’s history.

Why is GM only now fully committing to electric vehicles? Part of the reason has to do with their failure to reach hybrid shoppers. Toyota and Ford simply had more time to penetrate the market with their hybrid vehicles. As Doug Parks, vice president of autonomous and electric vehicles points out in the article, the Volt and its regular hybrid counterparts have not been terribly successful. GM would be extremely foolish to continue investing in a product that hasn’t resonated with its customers. “We’ve done a lot of hybrids, but we think that EVs are the real answer. We think they’re the long-term answer” said Parks.

There is another angle to GM’s stance as well. The company performs very well in China mainly due to the popularity of Buick. The brand was one of the first American companies to establish a foothold in the country, and GM has created a diverse lineup of vehicles along many different price points for Chinese buyers. China’s EV mandate will ultimately force GM to develop electric vehicles whether they like it or not. That being said, even if there wasn’t a strict regulatory environment in China, other automakers are set to introduce electric vehicles in a few short years, and if GM ignored the latest trend, they’d be doing so at their peril. VW also needs to follow a similar path in China as they’re quite popular there. VW also needs to invest in electric vehicles as part of the settlement for its fraudulent diesel program.

The bottom line is that no automaker is perfect. GM and VW failed to sway the market with their hybrid vehicles, but they’re committed to electric vehicles. Still, its hard not to lament GM’s pivot to fully-electric powertrains. For example, imagine a C8 Corvette that paired its LT2 V8 with an electric motor. That hypothetical model could have spawned an all wheel drive Corvette, which would have undoubtedly enhanced performance beyond a two wheel drive setup. It would have also enabled the C8 to be better positioned as a direct competitor to the 2019 Acura NSX, which boasts an all wheel drive hybrid powertrain. That “what if” scenario ignores the new Corvette’s ability to match the Acura’s 0-60 time in its current configuration. But it’s still natural to wonder what could have been had GM decided to concentrate on hybrid powertrain development. And despite everything that GM said, a Corvette with partial electric power isn’t outside the realm of possibility. The Corvette, after all, sits on a bespoke platform that shares little to no technology with the other vehicles in Chevy’s lineup. The dream of an all wheel drive Corvette may be a waste of mental energy, but it’s not an absurd one!

Photos: Chevrolet

.