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Slower-than-anticipated EV transition causes automakers to

adjust plans

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

investor meeting

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Investors to tour battery and EV assembly operations at

Tennessee plant

By Nora Eckert

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

seek to soothe shareholders' worries on Tuesday that lagging

demand for electric vehicles and perceived peak demand for

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

automaker.

CEO Mary Barra and her executive team will emphasize at

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, sources

previously said.

Investors are also expecting 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,

executives are expected to assure investors that profits on

battery-powered models are closer than they think and the

introduction of eight refreshed ICE models between now and the

end of 2025 leaves room for improvement of profit margins.

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 will be its Ultium Cells

battery technology, which investors will see during tours of the

battery and EV assembly operations at the company's Tennessee

plant.

The meeting will be the first since 2022, after GM delayed

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

Auto Workers union.