- General Motors plans to once again sell plug-in hybrids in North America, and we think the redesigned Chevy Equinox will be the first.
- GM CEO Mary Barra recently confirmed that PHEVs will return, also saying, “… the technology is already in production in other markets.”
- We suspect GM could bring over one of its China-market PHEV setups.
GM has struggled to build new electric vehicles based on its Ultium battery platform. With the company falling well short of its goal of selling 400,000 EVs between 2022 and the middle of 2024, it has been forced to set a new course, one that includes once again selling plug-in hybrids in North America. While GM hasn’t said which models will get the PHEV treatment, we think the redesigned Chevy Equinox is the most likely candidate.
During an earnings call last month, GM CEO Mary Barry confirmed the company’s plans to offer a plug-in-hybrid powertrain on certain models in the U.S. However, she didn’t say anything about which ones will have a PHEV variant, nor did she mention any specific details about the powertrain itself. Barra said that information will be shared at a later date, but she also provided a pretty big clue that fueled our speculation, saying, “… the technology is already in production in other markets.”
The 2019 Chevy Volt was the last plug-in hybrid that GM sold in America. That compact hatchback lasted for nine model years over two generations, considerably longer than its Cadillac ELR sibling, or the short-lived Cadillac CT6 PHEV that was built in China and dropped from the U.S. lineup after the 2018 model year. Still, we think China will once again be the source of GM’s plug-in-hybrid technology on our shores.
Existing GM PHEVs in China
Currently, GM sells a plug-in-hybrid model in China called the Buick Velite 6, which pairs a 1.5-liter gas engine and a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) with a pair of electric motors. The latter are fed by an LG-supplied 9.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The system generates a combined 181 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. GM Authority also reports that there’s an upcoming Equinox PHEV coming to the Chinese market with a similar setup, only with a turbocharged 1.5-liter gas engine; though we don’t have any detailed specs on that version, it’s safe to say it will produce a bit more power than the Velite 6’s powertrain.
It’s unclear if the Buick’s 9.5 kWh is the battery’s net or gross capacity, but either way it’s pretty small compared with the old Volt’s 18.3-kWh pack, as well as other modern PHEVs. For example, the plug-in-hybrid Hyundai Tucson that competes in the compact-SUV segment alongside the Equinox has a 13.8-kWh capacity that provides an EPA-rated 33 miles of electric driving range. This suggests the Equinox PHEV would need a bigger battery than the Velite 6 in order to be competitive with the growing number of plug-in-hybrid compact SUVs including the Toyota RAV4 Prime, Ford Escape PHEV, and others.
Car and Driver reached out to a Chevy spokesperson for comment on our speculation that the Equinox will be the first of GM’s new PHEV models, but they declined to say anything about future products. So we’ll just have to play the waiting game until we know for sure.
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.