Tariffs, wars, spiking fuel costs, and no more tax incentives for EVs. The world is a dynamic mess for automakers. For GM, the way forward rides on two important pillars: full-size trucks and digital services such as Super Cruise.
That was the message from GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in releasing first-quarter earnings that saw net income fell 5.7 percent to $2.63 billion in the first quarter while adjusted earnings before interest and taxes increased by 2 percent to $4.25 billion, fueled by an 11 percent increase in profits from its North American operations, which earned $3.67 billion.
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The most profitable: big trucks and SUVs. The next generation of GM’s full-size pickups coming later this year will continue to be vital. GM has 42 percent of this market in the U.S and the trucks are key to GM’s target of 8-10 percent profit margin in North America.
Overall, vehicle stocks were down about 6 percent from a year ago due to slower EV sales, fewer imports from Korea due to tariffs, the discontinuation of some Cadillac crossovers, and lost inventory of full-size trucks due to plant downtime.
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2025 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD heavy-duty truck.
Getting more trucks into showrooms is a priority. GM ended 2025 with lean inventory and the situation was made worse with the need for some plant downtime to retool for the new trucks. Affected plants include Fort Wayne Assembly in Indiana and the Flint Assembly Plant in Michigan that makes heavy-duty trucks. The Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan that was initially closed to prepare to make EVs has switched to retooling to make full-size pickups and SUVs with internal combustion engines.
GM is hoping to make up some of the lost inventory and sales. The significant downtime is now behind them, most of the tweaking still needed can be done during normal shutdowns, said chief financial officer Paul Jacobson. Production of the new truck will start to ramp up in the third quarter and Barra said she is expecting a smooth changeover.
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Super Cruise button on 2018 Cadillac CT6.
Digital Services Growth
OnStar generated $750 million in revenue in the first quarter, up 20 percent. GM is on pace to add more than 1 million OnStar subscribers in 2026, to about 13 million, with 30 percent of existing customers choosing a premium plan, and the service is projected to bring in more than $3.1 billion in revenue, up 15 percent. There are now more than 20 revenue-generating markets outside Canada and the U.S., Barra says.
Super Cruise will have more than 850,000 subscribers by the end of the year with renewal in the 30 to 40 percent range. Barra said it is the foundation for the next generation of software-defined vehicles, known as SDV 2.0, which will debut in 2028 on the Cadillac Escalade IQ, offering eyes-off, hands-free driving capability. Nearly 90 percent of the code written by the autonomy team is generated by AI.
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That is just the start, Barra says. GM is developing a system for personal vehicles that can be deployed on vehicles with internal combustion engines as well as electric vehicles, at scale across multiple brands and price points. The company is stress-testing it now and has begun supervised on-road testing in California and Michigan. She said the trust GM has garnered with Super Cruise will be helpful in launching SDV 2.0. Officials are excited about its potential as it scales up. Since older vehicles on the road lack the hardware needed, GM sees potential for it to drive new car sales.
