General Motors is adjusting its timeline for electric vehicles as changing regulations, charging infrastructure challenges and cooling U.S. demand reshape the path toward full electrification. The company had planned for Cadillac to go all-electric by 2030, but CEO Mary Barra now says GM’s transition will take longer, with hybrids serving as a key bridge.

GM Moves Away From Its Earlier EV Timeline

GM is revising the timeline for its EV rollout as the company responds to conditions in the current market. While Cadillac had been planned to become all-electric by 2030, Barra indicated that reaching that deadline would be difficult under present conditions.

GM is not alone in moving away from previously established deadlines for going fully electric. Many other automakers have also gone on record saying they are adjusting their respective timelines.

For now, the broader goal appears to be reaching carbon neutrality while electrifying or hybridizing entire model ranges.

Mary Barra Details GM’s EV Hurdles

In a video interview with Fortune magazine, GM CEO Mary Barra said EVs remain the company’s “end game,” while acknowledging that the path to widespread adoption has not been easy. She pointed to regulatory changes and charging infrastructure as two factors that have made implementation challenging.

Barra said the industry had been moving toward a regulatory environment in which automakers would have to make 40 to 50 percent of their vehicles EVs by 2030, or have vehicles that were EVs by that year.

“So when you look at where all auto companies in the U.S. were a couple of years ago, we were moving to a regulatory environment where you had to be making 40 to 50 percent of your EVs by 2030, or your vehicles had to be EVs by 2030. And so I think that’s where we were all moving to as the regulatory environment changed,” Barra said.

She also highlighted charging infrastructure as a fundamental factor in enabling EV adoption.

“I think one of the fundamentals also, though, is what enables EVs is charging infrastructure, and although there were funds passed in the infrastructure bill a few years ago, it’s been difficult due to permitting and a whole bunch of it to get those in the ground,” she said.

EV Demand Differs Across Markets

Barra also pointed to the push toward EVs in other markets, particularly China and Europe, where demand remains strong. In Europe, she said EV demand is continuing to grow.

That contrasts with the U.S. market, where demand has cooled and left many EVs sitting on dealer lots. Governments in China and Europe have also been more proactive in encouraging consumers to switch to EVs, while increasingly tight regulations have squeezed internal combustion power.

The government should be able to provide policies supporting EVs, or at the very least, plug-in hybrids, according to the article.

Hybrids Become the Bridge to EVs

For GM and other automakers, expanding hybrid offerings is presented as the best path forward for now. The company’s current portfolio is missing a powertrain option in important segments, particularly compact and midsize crossovers.

GM has experimented with hybrids in the past, but those efforts were not very successful. The company now plans to bring hybrids back as part of its broader powertrain strategy.

Pure combustion vehicles will remain available, while hybrids will soon join the lineup. Barra said GM intends to offer customers a broader range of choices across the segments it considers important.

“We have a great and very efficient internal combustion engine portfolio, and we have a very strong EV portfolio. And we’ll have hybrids in the segments we think are important to give customers a full range, and they can pick what they want,” Barra said.

GM’s Full-Electric Goal Will Take Longer

Barra said the move to fully electric vehicles will eventually happen, but indicated that it will not happen by 2035. She is relying on policies that can help build robust charging infrastructure and reduce concerns about range anxiety.

EVs now offer far longer ranges than ever, but range anxiety remains a concern because of the relative lack of charging infrastructure.

“That’s why charging infrastructure is so important for people to have confidence to switch to EVs; I think we’ll get there. I think because of the policy in this country, it’s going to take a little longer,” Barra said.

GM’s revised approach keeps internal combustion vehicles in the lineup while adding hybrids to key segments as the company continues working toward its eventual transition to fully electric vehicles.