I got a chance to meet with a few executives at GM involved with their hybrids programs afternoon. While these meetings seemed rather choreographed, I did manage to glean some interesting information from them.
Micky Bly, GM Director Global Hybrids
I had a great conversation with Micky about weather GM’s hybrid program has been a success. We touched on a few points that I think are informational:
- Leadership – It’s clear that GM wants to be a leader in Hybrids (and FlexFuels, PHEVs, and whatever other technologies are viable). He noted that all of GMs prescribed production runs have been sold out. The issue, however, is that these products are not being sold in volume. He did admit that suppliers are stretched to the limit, but are making deliveries. I wasn’t able to get any numbers out of Micky (no surprises there). But their high-profile models – Saturn Vue Greenline, Tahoe Hybrid, Malibu Hybrid – continue to be listed on their corporate website as having “limited availability”. I should expect that given the direct incursions of Toyota on their territory (pick-ups, cross-overs) that they would tout their market success of their hybrids. But they’re not – they report no sales figures (yet). The bottom line is that while GM’s intention is to be a leader, it currently does not have a record of leadership (or at least gains) in this segment.
- Phased roll-out: Micky admitted to me that GM has plans for 8 hybrids to be released by the end of the year (they currently have 5 – Vue, Aura, Malibu, Tahoe, Yukon? – not sure if that’s the fifth or the 2-Mode Vue). This means that they have another three annoucements through the remainder of the year. Their plans, however, is to continue to announce a new hybrid model on a quarterly basis. While that might sound a bit measured, it makes sense from the standpoint of building out a supply base. This should give their suppliers the opportunity to scale production and manage the roll-out in an organized manner. That’s good for consumers too.
