General Motors and Volkswagen go all-in on electric vehicles
American General Motors and Germany's Volkswagen, according to the Wall Street Journal, will invest in electric vehicles without splashing funds into hybrid models, unlike some other automakers who use different strategies, including a combination of hybrid and electric models, for Compliance with increasingly stringent emission control regulations.
GM and VW are planning to invest huge amounts of money in the production of electric vehicles. For example, GM has said it will launch 20 all-electric models by 2023, including Cadillac and Chevrolet for the US market. VW has planned a family of electric vehicles based on its new MEB platform, including the reincarnated Microbus, due in 2022. The German automaker also produces many electric vehicles under other brands, including Audi and Porsche.
According to the Wall Street Journal, since a lot of money is invested in the production of electric vehicles, it is not rational to spray them on intermediate hybrid models. In an interview with the newspaper, GM President Mark Reis said that it is wiser to invest all the money in “solving a known win-win project and implement it faster and better than anyone else.”
“We prefer to go all-in in the direction the market is heading, as opposed to mid-launching hybrid models as a way to hedge our bets,” said Scott Keogh, president of the Volkswagen Group USA in an interview. There are no hybrid models in VM's US line of vehicles, although it previously sold a hybrid version of the Jetta. VW-owned Porsche sells hybrid versions of its Panamera and Cayenne. Plug-in hybrid vehicles can recharge their battery packs using, however, an internal combustion engine or by connecting to an external power source, hence the name.
GM has a complicated history with hybrid models. The company's first large SUVs and a few sedans failed to deliver significant fuel savings. But GM managed to outperform its competitors with the release of the 1st generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid model in 2010. Perceived at the time as “flying to the moon,” Volt technology was later used in the hybrid version of the Cadillac CT6, as well as the unconnected Chevy Malibu hybrid model. GM stopped producing vehicles with this technology earlier this year.
Two other major automakers - Ford and Toyota - are taking a different approach, the Wall Street Journal notes. Toyota plans to launch an electric vehicle for the mass market going forward, but for now it is focusing on its best-selling Prius and other hybrid models. Ford has confirmed plans for four all-electric models, but will also launch hybrid versions of its pickup trucks and SUVs, as well as a hybrid Mustang. Thanks to the production of hybrid vehicles, Ford and Toyota were more successful in the market than GM and VW, which explains their reluctance to abandon the technology. In particular, the popularization of the hybrid model Prius by Toyota has led to the fact that it has become the company's hallmark.