Without question, 2025 was a tumultuous year for General Motors CEO Mary Barra and every other automotive chief executive trying to navigate the U.S. market.
Beyond moving regulatory targets, wildly fluctuating tariffs, continued supply chain disruptions, the elimination of federal tax credits for battery-electric vehicles and the Trump administration’s stated preference for cars powered by internal combustion, 2025 marked the end of one overarching ideology with another, when it comes to future mobility.
‘Moving Day’ At GM’s New HQ
But Barra, who on Thursday celebrates her 11th year as CEO of one of the world’s largest automakers, puts a positive spin on all of it, as she is known to do, carefully choosing her words during an Automotive Press Association fireside chat hosted at GM’s new world headquarters in downtown Detroit.
Reuters automotive correspondent Kalea Hall talked with Barra at length on the second floor of the new building on the first day of business at the new headquarters on Woodward Avenue — “moving day” as she referred to it — as the Detroit auto show kicks off this week with press days Wednesday and Thursday.
‘Badass Soccer Mom’
Which GM vehicle is Barra enthralled with right now? “I’m driving a Hummer SUV… I just love the vehicle,” she says, and still finds people speeding up or slowing down on the highway to check out its imposing footprint — or perhaps because they recognize the driver.
“Driving it is phenomenal. Four-wheel steer is, I think, one of the greatest features. The vehicle’s pretty big, but you can turn on a dime, park anywhere. And I just love the design. I would say I felt a little bit like a badass soccer mom.” And yes, she has crab-walked in a Hummer.
When Tariffs Hit The Industry
Barra was eager to talk business, especially tariffs. “In ’24, the minute we heard the word ‘tariff,’ we started doing planning,” Barra says. “We looked at what were ‘no regret moves’ that we could do depending on what happened. And so the day the tariffs were announced, we already had a playbook that we had done quite a bit of work on.”
Agility and flexibility were crucial at that time, and Barra says GM asked the Trump administration for clarity. “I also would say they worked really hard to understand the auto industry, to do what is right to help us get to a more level playing field globally.”
How About Fuel Economy Regs?
“Frankly, people talk a lot about tariffs,” but Barra points to another challenge: the Trump Administration’s proposed rollback of federal fuel-economy regulations from a fleet average of 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031 to 34.5 MPG by 2031, announced a month ago.
“That was more significant (than tariffs) when you look at the fact that we were headed to be 50 percent EVs (as a U.S. fleet mix), from a regulatory perspective, by 2030,” she says. “Now, without the consumer tax credit, also with the changes that are not completely done yet, from a regulatory perspective, we are on a different path.”
GM Sticks With EV Strategy
Either way, Barra says GM is well prepared for whatever comes next, touting “a really strong EV portfolio” as well as a “very strong internal-combustion engine portfolio, so we can meet the customer where they are.”
But Barra isn’t backing away from the course she set nearly a decade ago, committing to an intensive EV strategy that would eventually give GM leadership in the EV market. That hasn’t happened yet, as GM trails behind Tesla and BYD.
“Our destination is to get to the all-EV future we’ve been talking about,” she says, pointing to the need for affordable EVs, like the new Chevy Bolt, as well as a “robust charging infrastructure. Once those are in place, she expects consumers “are naturally going to pick EVs” for the instant torque and freedom from gas stations.
Hybrids Aren’t ‘The End Game’
Barra says she understands the economic weight of purchasing a new vehicle, and she sees consumers “making rational decisions. So I think we’re going to be pragmatic about it.” As for the inflection point tipping in EVs’ favor, “it will take longer without the incentives, but I still think we’ll get there over time.”
Until then, automakers are looking more seriously at hybrids, plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs, and GM is working on some of those as well in the pickup sector, but Barra insists they don’t represent the end game, partly because “most people don’t plug in” their PHEVs.
How About Revisiting Robotaxis?
When asked if GM should have committed earlier to more hybrids (like rival Toyota), Barra doesn’t flinch. “No. I think if I go back and look at — with everything we knew at that point in time — we’d make the same decision.” She says EV owners are 80 percent likely to buy another EV. But getting them to buy that first EV appears to be a tall order, at least now.
As for revisiting robotaxis, a dark saga for GM that ended over a year ago with the discontinued Cruise division, Barra isn’t interested. “This is not our business. It’s one of the things we learned,” to focus on personal vehicles and personal autonomy. “We don’t run a taxi business. We don’t run a bus business. We’re not running Rideshare 1.0, so I think it’s the right decision for us.”
Childhood Memories of Hudson’s
Incidentally, GM’s new headquarters occupies the property along Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit where the Hudson’s department store was the world’s tallest, at 410 feet with 200 departments and more than 700 fitting rooms. The store closed in 1983 and the building demolished in 1988.
At age 64, Barra recalls — like many other youngsters who grew up in metro Detroit in the 1960s and ’70s — coming to Hudson’s with her mother and brother to see the elaborate holiday window displays and to shop for gifts at the “for children only” department.
Although she approaches retirement age, Barra, an electrical engineer by degree, says she isn’t ready for that next chapter. “I will also say, I’m having a pretty good time, so (I) try to stay in good shape,” she says. “I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re doing… I think we’re just getting started.”
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