General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday and revealed that EV profitability is one of the company's top priorities in 2024.
GM CEO Mary Barra joined CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" following the print and talked company strategy as GM drives towards making its U.S. EV portfolio variable profit positive in the second half of 2024.
What Happened: Barra told CNBC that GM is still targeting a 100% EV light-duty portfolio by 2035. The automaker believes 2024 is the year to "really execute and see growth" in the EV business, she said.
GM is planning to launch six new EV models in 2024, and Barra revealed that GM already has 100,000 orders and reservations for EV pickup trucks that will be delivered in 2024 and 2025.
Barra expects GM's EV sales to increase in 2024 even though the broader industry is facing a possible decline in general market demand.
"We believe our competitive position will improve throughout the year, based on higher production of the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Silverado EV Work Truck," Barra said in a letter to shareholders.
Barra highlighted GM's flexibility to respond to fluctuations in market demand and said that the company has two factories that can switch between internal combustion engines and EVs as demand changes. She also pointed out that GM's flagship Factory ZERO can switch between EV models to respond to changing market conditions.
GM also plans to increase production of plug-in hybrid vehicles as a bridge towards full EV adoption as the regulatory environment becomes more stringent.
"We think hybrids will play a role, especially as the charging infrastructure continues to build," Barra said.
GM Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, GM shares were up 3.37% at $39.44 on Wednesday at the time of publication.