{"id":78782,"date":"2026-02-06T14:13:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/890040023"},"modified":"2026-02-06T14:13:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:13:18","slug":"big-3-automakers-take-52-1-billion-hit-from-ev-pivot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/big-3-automakers-take-52-1-billion-hit-from-ev-pivot\/","title":{"rendered":"Big 3 automakers take $52.1 billion hit from EV pivot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The massive bill for the Big Three’s EV pivot has come due to the tune of $52.1 billion.<\/p>\n

Following Stellantis’s (STLA<\/a>) filing on Friday morning reporting a $26 billion charge from its latest EV strategy change, the cumulative bill, including General Motors’ (GM<\/a>) $6.6 billion hit and Ford’s (F<\/a>) $19.5 billion write-off, has the Detroit automakers vaporizing $52.1 billion from their EV bets.<\/p>\n

To put it in perspective, in 2024, the three automakers totaled $34.1 billion in profits for the year.<\/p>\n

Factors like the EU scrapping its 2035 EV mandate and the Trump administration’s rollback<\/a> of Biden-era fuel economy standards in early December paved the way for more gas-powered cars, to the detriment of EVs. And this follows the federal EV tax credit expiring at the end of the third quarter, meaning no more government support for EV sales in the US.<\/p>\n

This comes on top of softer-than-expected demand for EVs before the tax credit’s expiration, especially for higher-end models like the now-canceled Ford F-150 Lightning.<\/p>\n

Altogether, there’s been a huge bottoming out in EV demand. And the Big Three automakers have been caught in the crosshairs as they shift away from massive EV investments and strategies, possibly leaving themselves on the back foot if EV demand increases.<\/p>\n

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\"Stellantis<\/div>\n<\/div>
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa listens as President Trump announces new fuel economy standards in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3, 2025. (Reuters\/Brian Snyder) \u00b7<\/span> REUTERS \/ Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Friday, Stellantis was the latest to contribute to the Big Three’s EV bill. The more globally positioned Big Three automaker reported a massive $26 billion charge as it reset its EV business.<\/p>\n

Cash payments of 6.5 billion euros ($7.7 billion) will be paid out over the next four years, and charges totaling 14.7 billion euros ($17.34 billion) will be taken against the company’s 2025 second-half results, Stellantis said. The charges won’t impact its adjusted operating income, however.<\/p>\n

Stellantis previously announced it wouldn’t release its EV-only Ram pickup, instead going with only an extended-range EV (EREV) hybrid version. Eventually, the company will likely cancel current EVs on the market, both here in Europe, but the company didn’t say which ones. Its only other EV available for sale in the US is the Jeep Wagoneer S.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/em>How to lower your car insurance bill.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

CEO Antonio Filosa, who has been in the role for just over half a year, has the company making its once-EV-only Dodge Charger accommodate gas engines and killing off the EV’s base version in favor of higher trims. And the venerable Hemi V8, which had been discontinued, is now returning<\/a> to the Stellantis lineup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Filosa took over from prior CEO Carlos Stellantis, whose deep cost-cutting, increased MSRP plan, and canceling of popular models angered customers and the all-important dealer network.<\/p>\n

The new CEO has his work cut out for him, and the pivot, which Filosa calls profound, may take quite a long time to fix.<\/p>\n

“We think that for [Stellantis] to get back towards levels of profitability we see at GM, it’s going to take a while,” Nishit Madlani, auto sector lead and managing director at S&P Global Ratings, told Yahoo Finance, though he noted that Stellantis under Filosa has taken the steps needed to get on the right path.<\/p>\n

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\"Ford<\/div>\n<\/div>
Ford CEO Jim Farley speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3, 2025. (Andrew CaballeroReynolds\/AFP via Getty Images) \u00b7<\/span> ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ford CEO Jim Farley and other executives at the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker have had a busy end of the year.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 15, Ford announced<\/a> a series of moves in its electric vehicle business, pivoting to a hybrid and EREV strategy instead of focusing on full EVs. The company’s future EVs will be fewer and smaller, which means Ford will take a planning and strategic hit of $19.5 billion in related charges.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/em>Buying an electric car? What to know about EV insurance costs.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, Ford canceled the Lightning EV pickup in its existing form after it canceled a three-row EV SUV earlier in the year. Ford also said it won’t be building an electric commercial van that it had planned.<\/p>\n

“We can’t allocate money for things that will not make money,” Farley said in an interview with Reuters<\/a>. “As much as I love those products, the customers in the US were not going to pay for \u200cthem. And that was the end of that.”<\/p>\n

While a $19.5 billion charge is a huge sum, Wall Street and investors weren’t surprised. The stock actually climbed higher after the announcement.<\/p>\n

“We view it as a decisive, strategic reset. Historically, Ford’s been a little slow to act on very important strategic items in terms of cutting losses early,” S&P’s Madlani said. “It does give them long-term flexibility and near term we see the path towards less losses, because they’re going to be having less underutilized EV assets.”<\/p>\n

The downside for Ford? In a few years, a new administration will be in place, and Ford may have to pivot again.<\/p>\n

While the company has some “optionality” with hybrids like the Maverick and F-150 pickup, as well as existing EVs like the Mach-E, Madlani said Ford could be vulnerable to any upside from EV demand, should it arise.<\/p>\n

“There’s no question that the demand environment is going to be challenging,” TD Cowen Analyst Itay Michaeli told Yahoo Finance. “Companies generally expect EV adoption to hit about 5% to 7% of new vehicle sales over the very near term. But our message over the next couple of years is don’t sleep on the US EV market.”<\/p>\n

Stellantis is betting heavily on more gas-powered cars and pulling back on EV investment, and it’s taking charges for those moves.<\/p>\n

The question is what will happen if consumer tastes and technologies change (and when there’s a new administration), and the automakers must change course again.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
The new 2027 Chevy Bolt is on display during the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Josh Lefkowitz\/Getty Images) \u00b7<\/span> Josh Lefkowitz via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the flip side, there’s General Motors. The largest US automaker also bet heavily on EVs and is still plowing forward with vehicles like the new upcoming Chevrolet Bolt, which will cost around $35,000, and the range-topping Cadillac Celestiq EV, which tops out over $300,000.<\/p>\n

But there have been hiccups, and the loss of EV tax credits, coupled with declining incentives to meet fleet fuel economy standards, means the EV business will struggle.<\/p>\n

GM took a $6 billion charge in December related to its EV pivot, on top of the $1.6 billion it took in Q3 following a “reassessment” of its EV business, bringing its total EV write-down to $6.6 billion. GM said it expects to “recognize material, but significantly smaller, cash and non-cash EV-related charges in 2026.”<\/p>\n

GM has also promised to release hybrids, a pivot from its original plan to skip the technology that CEO Mary Barra once viewed as transitional. Now GM is plowing $4 billion into building and transitioning factories to make more hybrids and gas-powered cars.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to do the right hybrids that we think are important for our portfolio, but I also think we have a very strong EV portfolio and a very strong internal combustion [portfolio],” Barra said in an interview with Automotive News<\/a>. “We’re going to be positioned to compete well, but also be good stewards of our owners’ capital and how we deploy R&D dollars.”<\/p>\n

While GM’s charges are modest compared to Ford’s, S&P Ratings sees more pain ahead.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t be surprised if [more charges] were to happen, and that’s only because after Q3 when they put out the $1.6 billion charge announcement, there was a pretty clear statement in their filing which said there could be more material announcements related to program cancelations, supplier charges, etc., very similar to what Ford announced,” Madlani said.<\/p>\n

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\"General<\/div>\n<\/div>
General Motors chair and CEO Mary Barra speaks during the 2025 New York Times Dealbook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Dec. 3, 2025, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images) \u00b7<\/span> Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Others on Wall Street believe GM is well-positioned, given that although EV demand is low at the moment, it could improve after hitting rock bottom.<\/p>\n

“They still have a wide portfolio and enough capacity to adjust to market demand, and they’ll have, of course, new technologies as well,” TD Cowen’s Michaeli said.<\/p>\n

The question is if and when that would be. In the meantime, GM’s operational prowess should help it navigate the post-EV tax credit world.<\/p>\n

“The execution at GM has been way more consistent, which is the reason why their margins have been so much larger compared to Ford over the past seven, eight years,” Madlani said. “I think GM has been [more consistent in execution] under Mary Barra. We’ve seen as the tables turn, more decisive steps, more control over all the things that the industry throws at them, whether it’s supply chain shocks from bottlenecks that emerge, labor union negotiations, you name it.”<\/p>\n

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\"StockStory<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
StockStory aims to help individual investors beat the market. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pras Subramanian is Lead Auto Reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on<\/em> X<\/em><\/a> and on<\/em> Instagram<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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