DuelsLeaderboardGarageBlogCarsGlossaryBrowse

GM's boss still calls electric cars the endgame

News · September 10, 2026 at 1:46 PM ET

Jeffrey Wiley
Jeffrey Wiley
Editor
GM's boss still calls electric cars the endgame
A Chevrolet Equinox EV, one of the models GM is betting on. Photo: Booredatwork.com / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

See more of our coverage in your search results.

General Motors chief executive Mary Barra says electric cars remain where the company is heading, even with US demand slowing and federal policy pulling the other way. Barra told Fortune that EVs are the "end game" and described them as GM's "north star."

Barra put EVs at roughly 40 to 50 percent of sales by 2030.


What's actually being said

Barra listed the things holding adoption back rather than disputing that it has slowed: changing regulations, charging infrastructure that has taken longer to build out than expected, and plain practicality. The Trump administration has also rolled back policies designed to speed the transition.

Barra told Fortune the shift will likely take decades rather than arrive on a fixed near-term date, which is a meaningful change from the industry's tone a few years ago, when carmakers were announcing hard cutoff years for combustion.

GM still sells the Equinox EV, the Blazer EV, the Silverado EV, and Cadillac's electric range, and it isn't walking away from them.


The interesting part is who disagrees

Set this beside what Audi's chief executive said last week and you get a real split. Gernot Döllner argued that the more expensive the car, the more buyers want an engine, with electric acceptance strongest at the cheap end.

Both can be right, and together they describe the market fairly well. GM sells volume, and volume is exactly where Döllner says EVs work. Audi's problem is at the top, where a car is a choice rather than transport and combustion still owns the character.

So the disagreement isn't really about whether EVs win. It's about which end of the price ladder they win first, and GM is standing at the end where the answer is easier.

The design consequence is the part this site cares about. A 40 to 50 percent electric mix by 2030 means Chevrolet and Cadillac showrooms full of cars with no grille to design around for another decade, which is a large part of why EVs have a design problem nobody has solved yet.


Sources:

Barra's "end game" and "north star" comments and the 2030 mix: Fortune

GM's long-term commitment amid the policy rollback: GM Authority

Found this article useful?
Add WhipJury as a preferred source on Google to see our articles first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Mary Barra say about EVs?
The GM chief executive told Fortune that electric vehicles are still the company's "end game" and its "north star," despite slowing US demand, slower than expected charging infrastructure, and federal policy rollbacks under the Trump administration.
What is GM's EV sales target?
Barra put electric vehicles at roughly 40 to 50 percent of GM sales by 2030. That leaves gas and hybrid models covering the remaining half of the lineup, and Barra framed the full transition as taking decades rather than meeting a fixed deadline.
Do other carmakers agree that EVs are inevitable?
Not entirely. Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner has argued that demand for combustion engines rises with price, saying enthusiasm for engines is strongest in higher segments while electric cars are accepted fastest in cheaper ones.
Jeffrey Wiley
Written by
Jeffrey Wiley

Jeffrey Wiley has spent more time than he'd like to admit thinking about what makes a car look right. He writes about automotive design, car culture, and the opinions people have strong feelings about. He lives in north Georgia.

Related Posts

Makes in this article

Comments

GM's boss still calls electric cars the endgame