*

GM has 'plenty of upside,' CEO Barra tells investors

*

GM's autonomous vehicle unit, China operations in focus at

investor meeting

*

Investors tour battery and EV assembly operations at

Tennessee

plant

(Updates with statements by CEO during investor day)

By Nora Eckert

DETROIT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - General Motors ( GM ) CEO

Mary Barra is seeking to soothe shareholders' worries that

lagging demand for electric vehicles and perceived peak demand

for gasoline-powered trucks will create a rough road ahead for

the automaker.

Barra emphasized at an investor day in Spring Hill,

Tennessee, that profit margins have not peaked on traditional

internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles, and its EV

sales are ramping up, something sources previously told Reuters

would be outlined.

"I believe before the day is done, that you'll agree that GM

has plenty of upside relative to the consensus view that the

auto industry has reached peak profitability," Barra told

investors.

During the event, investors also expect more details on the

automaker's restructuring in China, as well as updates around

its Cruise autonomous vehicle operations, which has struggled

since an accident last fall where one of its self-driving cars

dragged a person.

The slower-than-anticipated EV transition has caused many

automakers to adjust plans, including GM and cross-town rival

Ford, and GM's messaging on Tuesday is expected to focus less on

aggressive growth and more on stability.

That will contrast with years past as GM set ambitious

targets to rival Tesla, including in 2021 when Barra

said GM would double revenue to about $280 billion by 2030.

While EV demand has lagged since Barra set that lofty goal,

she assured investors that profits on battery-powered models are

closer than they think and there is room for profit margin

growth with ICE vehicles. She said GM still expects EVs to

achieve variable profitability by year-end, which is revenue

minus costs like labor and materials.

Rory Harvey, GM's president of global markets, told Reuters

last week that the automaker's third-quarter sales, which

included strong gains on its EVs, were "a positive platform

leading into investor day."

Barra has said that GM is looking for ways to bring down the

cost of its EVs, and last month the carmaker and Hyundai

signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to

consider ways to "leverage their complementary scale and

strengths to reduce costs and bring a wider range of vehicles

and technologies to customers faster."

One focus at GM's investor day is its Ultium Cells battery

technology, which investors saw during tours of the battery and

EV assembly operations at the company's Tennessee plant.

The meeting is the first since 2022, after GM delayed the

event last year to focus on resolving a strike by the United

Auto Workers union.