GM Delivers More EVs. Its Grand Plan Is Working.

General Motors sold a lot more electric vehicles in the second quarter than it did a year earlier, even though sales growth for EVs has slowed down in the U.S. That shows its plan to offer a variety of EV models is bearing fruit.

Tuesday, GM said it sold about 696,000 vehicles in the U.S. in the second quarter, a bit more than in the same quarter a year earlier. But EV sales came in at almost 22,000, up 42% year over year.

“We have an incredible portfolio of diverse vehicles and we’re flexible, so we can win as more customers embrace EVs and we can keep winning if they want to stay with the engine technologies they know,” said Marissa West, GM’s North American president, in a news release.

The EV sales jump came even though sales of the Chevy Bolt fell 90% as GM prepares the next generation of the low-cost car. All-electric versions of the Chevy Blazer, Silverado, and Equinox, as well as sales of the Cadillac LYRIQ, picked up the slack. It was the first quarter for Equinox sales.

GM had six EV models that sold more than 1,000 units. A year ago, that number was two.

Overall, EVs accounted for about 3.2% of GM’s U.S. sales in the quarter, up about one percentage point year over year. EVs accounted for about 19% of Cadillac sales, up almost 16 percentage points. An all-electric version of the Escalade and the new Cadillac OPTIQ should push EVs’ share of Cadillac sales even higher in the future.

GM stock was up 0.3% in midday trading at $46.80 a share, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% and flat, respectively.

Through midday trading, GM shares were up more than 60% since late November, but capital returns to shareholders, rather than developments in the market for cars, are the reason. GM has announced or completed some $16 billion in stock buybacks since then. That is equivalent to about 45% of GM’s total market value when the company unveiled the initial $10 billion buyback on Nov. 29.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]