Key Points
- The global transition to electric vehicles is slowing down and facing major challenges. The EU has relaxed its timeline for phasing out gas-powered cars.
- Ford is taking a $19.5 billion charge as it retreats from its aggressive EV strategy.
- EV pioneers such as Tesla and China’s BYD are also seeing slowing sales.
- Legacy automakers like GM and Stellantis are cutting EV production and reviving gas-powered models.
The global rush to an all-electric vehicle future is hitting a major speed bump. In a series of stunning reversals, major automakers and even governments are backing away from their most ambitious EV targets, signaling a new, more uncertain phase for the electric revolution.
This week, the European Commission relaxed its aggressive timeline for phasing out gasoline cars, giving the industry more time to make the switch.
Just a day earlier, Ford announced it would take a massive $19.5 billion financial hit as it retreats from its once all-in EV strategy. The company is now pivoting back toward hybrid and gas-powered vehicles, a dramatic U-turn from its position just a few years ago.
This isn’t just a problem for a few companies. Even the EV pioneers are struggling. Tesla, the company that started it all, is now seeing its global sales decline for the second consecutive year. China’s BYD, set to become the world’s new EV leader, is also facing slowing sales.
Legacy automakers are feeling the pain even more. General Motors recently took a $1.6 billion charge related to cutting EV production, and Stellantis has scrapped plans for a fully electric Ram pickup. In Europe, Volkswagen is even halting production at a German EV plant.
While no one is abandoning EVs completely—GM’s CEO insists they remain the “North Star”—the reality is that sales are not growing fast enough to meet the ambitious goals set for the next decade.
The industry is now entering a messy, contested period in which the path to an electric future appears much longer and more complex than anyone expected.
