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GM warns of 'serious threat to the business' before bombshell U-turn
America's largest automaker has been urging its staff to lobby lawmakers over a totally new stance on EVs and gas cars.
GM warns of 'serious threat to the business' before making bombshell U-turn
By BEN SHIMKUS, CONSUMER REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 15:23 EDT, 20 May 2025
America's largest automaker once backed California's aggressive EV push. That support appears to be over.
General Motors has begun urging employees to lobby lawmakers against ban on the sale of new gas cars in the state within a decade, something it once supported.
'We need your help!' GM wrote in an email to thousands of salaried workers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
our business by undermining consumer choice and vehicle affordability.'
The email comes as California’s tough climate regulations face growing resistance.
For years, the state has had a federal waiver allowing it to impose stricter tailpipe rules than the national standard.
That authority led to a bold mandate: by 2035, all new cars sold in the state must be zero-emission vehicles — either battery electric or hydrogen-powered.
Eighteen other states have adopted similar rules that will ban the sale of new gas cars.
But with EV sales falling short of projections, the waiver is now under bipartisan scrutiny in Washington. GM’s lobbying is the latest signal of shifting political winds.
The company — second only to Tesla in US EV sales — has walked back its earlier commitments to an all-electric future.
GM once promised to build 400,000 electric vehicles by 2024. It ended up selling just 114,432 that year.
Still, that number represented a significant gain: a 50 percent increase in EV sales compared to 2023.
But the growth hasn’t matched regulators’ lofty projections. EVs account for about seven percent of new vehicle sales in the US.
Nationwide, EV deliveries fell five percent last month, even as overall new vehicle sales rose by double digits.
In California, where EV adoption has consistently outpaced the rest of the country, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles still account for only about 20 percent of total sales — well short of the 35 percent benchmark required by 2026 under the state’s current rule.
'GM believes in customer choice, and we continue to focus on offering the best and broadest portfolio of vehicles on the market,' a company spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
'GM has long supported one national standard and consistency in emissions regulations that are aligned with market realities.'
Despite its lobbying push, GM previously told DailyMail.com that it remains committed to electrification.
The automaker has spent billions outfitting its US factories with the latest battery technology.
Recently, GM announced plans to develop lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery chemistry that’s lighter, cheaper, and less reliant on Chinese-sourced critical minerals.
Meanwhile, California's regulators have argued that their rules, which include credits and rollover sales averages, have been plenty accomodating to auto manufacturers.
The incentives' end could further cut against battery electric adoption and recent billion-dollar investments from major brands.
These developments follow several new announcements from other automotive companies that show that automakers still believe the future is electric.
Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, unveiled two new EV models set for the US market next year. It's luxury arm, Lexus, unveiled a new EV sedan.
VW, the second largest automaker, is also ramping up production of its lowest-priced EV.
In an open letter to President Trump, John Bozzella, the CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a conglomerate that advocates for America's carmakers, said car companies will increasingly invest in new EV tech.
'The auto industry is positioned to play a central role in advancing America's economic and national security interests if permitted to operate in a durable, predictable, and market-driven policy environment,' Bozzella wrote.
'This is a pro-growth recipe for American leadership and competitiveness that will preserve consumer choice, creating manufacturing jobs and transform the US industrial base.'
Jeremy Snyder, chief commercial officer of the newly-unveiled Slate electric truck company, exclusively told DailyMail.com that US EV manufacturing is a no-brainer.
'Building EVs for a new company is the only obvious solution,' Snyder said.
'Current EV problems are a education and infrastructure issues that are being corrected over time.