'It's just not happening': GM CEO says buyers aren't bailing out of thirsty SUVs, trucks

Reading the tea leaves is a dicey business for automotive industry forecasters, especially over the past two years, as a change in White House administrations signaled a 180-degree turn from supporting battery-electric vehicles to one favoring internal-combustion engines of every size.

How can automakers plan for the future while fuel prices fluctuate with each bombing in Iran, while tariffs hinder profitability and force consumers to pay more for new cars, while emissions regulations swing quickly from strict to lenient, and while lagging consumer confidence makes it hard to contemplate buying a new vehicle?

Truck Demand Strong Despite Affordability Concerns, Says GM

When General Motors held its conference call yesterday to discuss second-quarter financial results, an analyst asked whether the automaker is seeing evidence that more cost-conscious shoppers are picking smaller crossovers or SUVs instead of expensive full-size pickups. CEO Mary Barra said no, and that demand remains "really strong" for full-size pickups and SUVs.

"We're building everything that we can sell," Barra said about demand for full-size pickups and SUVs. She also said she believes consumers will not steer away from big vehicles in response to specific events – she didn't identify any, but was perhaps referring to spikes in gas prices or a supply-chain disruption. "I think something would have to happen for a long period of time," Barra said in answering the question.

But Sales Are Down, Way Down In Some Cases

It's worth noting that, while Barra's outlook is favorable on GM trucks and SUVs, sales data through the first half of 2026 isn't as positive. Nearly every full-size truck and SUV in the GM stable is down year-over-year: Cadillac Escalade sales are down 17%, Chevy's full-size SUVs, the Suburban and Tahoe, are down 17.5% and 9.1%, and the GMC Yukon is down 7.7%. In trucks, America's second-best-selling vehicle, the Silverado, is down 4.6%. The only body-on-frame full-sizer in positive territory is the GMC Sierra, and it's only barely positive at 0.9%.

New Trucks More Profitable, Eventually

The analyst also asked whether the predicted shift in mix would be apparent in 2027, but Barra did not answer directly, saying generally that "we're going to be guided by the consumer" and that she considers GM "extremely well positioned from an affordability perspective" to meet customer needs while benefiting from improved profitability across the entire SUV range.

"We're seeing strength" in the large truck and SUV segments, she said, even though a sales mix leaning to less-expensive crossovers "has been predicted now for probably about three or four months."

The stability of the full-size pickup truck sector is paramount for General Motors as the automaker prepares to launch an all-new generation of GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickups in December. An analyst asked whether emissions regulations that are now less stringent at the direction of the Trump administration would make the new trucks more profitable.

GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the new truck will bring more efficiency, which should translate to improved profitability, but not immediately. "It's going to take a little bit of time because... with the ramp up and the transition, there are some costs that we incur over that time period. So that's why we've classified this as potentially more of a 2027 and beyond tailwind than anything material this year."

CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:

Employees at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis wake up every day trying to put each other out of business, and that competition is most intense when it comes to full-size pickup trucks, because these vehicles represent the highest sales volumes to feed the bottom line, year after year.

Should it be comforting that GM is not seeing signs that its cash cows are falling prey to consumers eager to save money by purchasing something smaller, at least for now? That is good news for the bean counters, but what's more important is that GM steps up sales and improves profitability in other segments, in case the unthinkable should happen.