GM, Volkswagen to ditch hybrid vehicles

General Motors and Volkswagen have put the brakes on hybrid vehicles, saying they see no future for them in their U.S. line-ups, reports the Wall Street Journal. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/gm-volkswagen-say-goodbye-to-hybrid-vehicles-11565602200)

However, Toyota and Ford plan to keep hybrids as a core part of their offerings, showing a split in the industry.

Volkswagen Group of America boss Michael Horn has said,” For America, plug-in hybrids don’t make a lot of sense for the upstream emissions, and they’re just not incentivized by tax schemes.” (https://driving.ca/volkswagen/auto-news/news/no-vw-plug-in-hybrids-planned-for-north-america?)

General Motors revealed earlier this year it plans to move away from hybrids and focus more on all-electric vehicles. (https://electrek.co/2019/01/15/gm-moving-away-hybrids-focus-all-electric/)

It is part of a major restructuring that will involve doubling “doubling” the company’s investment in electric and self-driving cars. (https://electrek.co/2018/11/26/gm-chevy-volt-factory-shutdown-electric-investmet/)

“GM now intends to prioritize future vehicle investments in its next-generation battery-electric architectures,” said a company statement.

CEO Mary Barra said that it would result in doubling the company’s investment in electric vehicles and self-driving technology.