If you follow the stock market, you may still regret not putting $10,000 into Sandisk last year. Investing that amount in April 2025 and selling 14 months later would have produced nearly $800,000. GM’s situation is less enviable: it invested billions in EVs, only to find that buyers are showing stronger interest in hybrids.
By the late 2010s, the auto industry had become increasingly focused on EVs. Several automakers promised to go electric-only by 2030, while most committed substantial resources to battery-powered models. Rising EV sales and tighter regulations made it seem as though electric cars were destined to dominate the market.
Hybrids, which helped launch the modern electrification movement in the late 1990s, were dismissed by GM CEO Mary Barra in 2019 as an “interim solution,” Reuters notes. Seven years later, U.S. sales suggest hybrids may be the lasting answer rather than a temporary step. Automakers that continued investing in gasoline-electric powertrains are now benefiting.
Toyota is the clear leader. Cox Automotive data cited by Reuters shows the company held a 49.2 percent share of the hybrid market in the first quarter. Hybrid demand has also expanded, with the technology’s share of the overall car market climbing from 16 percent in February to 19 percent in August as gasoline prices surged after the war in Iran began. One analyst told Reuters that hybrids could reach a 34 percent share by 2031.
Toyota Stayed Committed to Hybrids
Toyota popularized hybrid power with the original Prius and faced years of criticism for being slow to introduce EVs. However, it remained committed to hybrids, and that strategy is paying off in the U.S. in 2026. GM’s share of the U.S. auto market dropped from 17.6 percent in the first half of 2025 to 16.8 percent during the same period this year, while Toyota’s increased from 15.5 percent to 15.8 percent, according to Cox Automotive.
EVs also reduce fuel costs, and sales are surging in Europe, where drivers face similar gasoline-price pressures. One in four new cars sold there is an EV. U.S. sales are moving in the opposite direction, partly because the Trump administration ended federal EV tax credits. EVs’ share of the U.S. market fell from 14.4 percent in September 2025 to 7.1 percent this May.
GM’s Two Hybrid Models Get 19 MPG
To regain momentum, GM will need to introduce several hybrid models alongside the gasoline-powered vehicles it wisely continued to produce. At present, the company’s only U.S. hybrids are two Corvettes: the $111,000 E-Ray and the $227,000 ZR1X. GM previously offered hybrid sedans and SUVs, and it still sells hybrids in China.
When will GM offer new hybrids with more than two seats in North America? Dealers may not welcome the answer. GM has not confirmed timing or commented on speculation, but industry sources told Reuters that U.S. dealerships could remain without hybrid models until near the end of the decade.
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