An EV revolution has been trumpeted for decades, but while Asia and Europe jumped in headfirst, America is still having trouble dipping its toes in the water. After an initial surge in market share, EVs have slowed and even stalled, making up just 7.4% of total vehicles as of June 2025, according to CarEdge. The well-known federal tax credit that gave new EV buyers up to $7,500 has also been eliminated, meaning the EV sales boom of July, August, and September 2025 was likely a blip of people taking advantage of the credit while they could.
There are many reasons for the slow adoption of EVs stateside, including high costs and depreciation, concerns about long-term performance, and a lack of EV charging infrastructure in more public and private rural areas. Either way, consumer demand has been far below what many automakers anticipated when they invested big dollars in their EV programs. Because of this, and aided by other factors like increased tariffs and relaxed emissions regulations, some automakers are scaling back or even eliminating their EV plans in favor of vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs).
All the automakers in question cited low sales and/or lack of profits as the main reason for the shift. As the old saying goes, follow the money, and that’s what automotive manufacturers are doing. We’re going to follow that trail and examine some companies that have significantly scaled back their EV plans, and what they’re focusing on instead.
Ford
The Blue Oval was all-in on EVs for the first half of the 2020s, introducing the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit in short order. However, the New York Times reports that since 2023, the Ford EV division is $12 billion in the hole. That’s a number even a worldwide conglomerate like Ford can’t ignore. In September 2024, Ford announced that its Oakville, Ontario assembly factory would switch its planned focus from electric sports cars and SUVs to ICE pickup trucks. Demand has increased for the very profitable Ford Super Duty, and the automaker responded in kind. Ford also delayed the release of two new all-electric pickups.
However, in August 2025, Ford announced what it called its “next Model T moment” in the form of a new universal EV platform and a new universal EV production system to build it. This platform’s first vehicle will be an as-yet-unnamed midsize electric pickup priced around $30,000, which will go on sale in 2027. That’s comparable to the existing Ford Ranger. The new platform uses significantly fewer parts and fasteners, and more large aluminum components to speed assembly. Despite being an EV, its wiring harness is 4,000 feet shorter and 22 lbs lighter than the Mustang Mach-E, reports Jalopnik.
It takes years to develop new models, especially such a revolutionary platform and a new production line to build it. It seems likely that Ford was already quite committed to this when the winds of EV enthusiasm changed, and it was too late to back out. Still, if Ford succeeds in producing more EVs that are comparable to or better than current ICE offerings, they could make EV adoption more palatable for those who are still against it.
General Motors
As another early captain on the EV bandwagon, GM said back in 2018 that its goal was to have 50% of its new vehicles all-electric by 2030 and 100% by 2035. To that end, it has released many EVs under several marques, including the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac LYRIQ.
Now, though, it seems those lofty goals are in jeopardy. The opening of a new Orion assembly plant in Detroit, which was supposed to make the Silverado EV, has now been delayed twice and won’t make its first vehicle until at least mid-2026. They also put the brakes on the first Buick PHEV with no official date in sight. In April 2025, GM reversed course on plans to convert its Toledo, Ohio, plant into a full-scale EV drive unit hub, increasing production on ICE parts instead to support higher light-duty truck output at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, location. More recently, GM said it would reduce production of its Cadillac EVs. Because of the low demand, it has been temporarily laying off workers and even shuttering existing EV plants for weeks at a time. These are major moves for a company that seemed so committed to EVs.
However, after discontinuing the Bolt in 2023, Chevrolet is bringing it back for the 2027 model year. It has a revised interior, and while the outside got little more than a facelift, it is the first Chevy to utilize the NACS charging port pioneered by Tesla. It can fast charge at 150 kW, 2.5 times faster than the previous Bolt, and can charge from 10% to 80% in just 26 minutes. Though priced just under $30,000, the similarly priced 2026 Nissan LEAF exceeds the new Bolt’s capabilities in almost every way. It’s not clear why GM brought the Bolt out of retirement with some significant improvements, but still not enough to keep up with the competition.
Volvo
At one point, Volvo had perhaps the most aggressive EV plan. In 2021, it set a goal of making its entire vehicle lineup all-electric by 2030, and trumpeted its credentials with SUVs like the EX90 full-size and EX40 compact.
In September 2024, though, Volvo officially abandoned those all-electric plans. The new goal is to have 90% of the lineup either EV or PHEV by 2030, meaning gas-powered engines will be in the picture for the foreseeable future, even if hybrids. On the most recent World EV Day, Volvo positioned PHEVs as the vehicle of now, trumpeting them as the perfect bridge to an eventual EV world.
Volvo hasn’t abandoned EVs, having just begun production on the much-anticipated ES90. It’s even lobbying Europe to ban new ICE vehicles by 2035. But in the meantime, Volvo is putting more effort into its gas-only fleet, such as significantly refreshing the XC90 crossover. It’s also hinted at moving the XC90 and XC60 production to the U.S. to avoid tariff costs.
Volkswagen
Like its fellow V marquee, Volkswagen initially talked a big game about EVs. In 2018, it said it would no longer build combustion engine cars by the end of 2026. Plenty of EVs have followed suit, like the ID.4 sedan and the long-awaited ID.Buzz minibus.
How times have changed. VW is putting plenty of resources into EVs, but gasoline cars aren’t going anywhere. In 2022, it revised its full-electric plans for Europe until 2033, and now it may not even hit that target. Then, in June 2024, the Volkswagen Group said it would pour $65 billion into internal combustion engine development to remain competitive with other brands. This year, VW assured customers that the famous Golf GTI hatchback will remain gas-powered until sometime into the 2030s, though it also hinted at a hybrid setup.
Other Volkswagen subsidiaries are following the same path. Porsche announced the current V8 Cayenne will be sold alongside the EV edition until at least 2030, and multiple other EVs like the 718 are reportedly delayed. Bentley has delayed its full transition from 2030 to 2035 and won’t release its first EV until 2027. Porsche, Bugatti, and Lamborghini are also exploring synthetic fuels as an EV alternative.
Other EV Rollbacks
Several other automakers don’t have enough news on their EV scale-backs for a full section, but are nonetheless worth mentioning. Here are five more companies that have modified their plans in the past two years.
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- Mercedes-Benz: Slow EV sales have caused the luxury automaker to pull back on its all-EV-by-2030 plans. Mercedes-Benz is also dropping the EQ badging and styling, keeping future EVs more in line with the overall brand aesthetic.
- Honda: The Japanese automaker no longer has a timeline for electrifying a certain percentage of vehicles. For now, it will emphasize hybrids instead of EVs.
- Aston Martin: The first Aston Martin EV has been postponed until 2027, and it will now sell ICE cars until the 2030s. That said, some Aston Martin models could be hybridized in the meantime.
- Jaguar Land Rover: They originally were going to have six Land Rover EV models by the end of 2026, but now will only offer four by then. The Jaguar nameplate will remain electric-only for the time being.
- Dodge: The electric future Dodge planned for the Charger has not worked out. After a change in management, Dodge has gone all-in on the HEMI V8, making it the only available engine in the Durango and hinting at plans to stuff it into the current Charger after clearly stating it would not.
The Changing Landscape of Vehicle Power
With how much time and money it takes for an automaker to implement any sort of strategy, major shifts aren’t taken lightly. The fact that so many manufacturers are retooling factories, extending ICE production life, and delaying vehicle launches shows how bumpy the road to EVs has gotten. I have a feeling there are many more chapters to be written in this story. Companies will follow the money, and who knows when or if the long-term money will point to an all-EV world.
