GM Shifting out of EV Strategy, Records $7B+ in Charges
The immediate future of electric vehicles has suffered another major dent, if not devastating crash in expectations, as automaker General Motors is dramatically downsizing its EV plans and investments.
Following the steps of rival Ford Motor Co., GM is putting the brakes to an EV focus it championed only a few years ago. The end of consumer tax incentives for purchasing U.S.-made EVs during the Trump Administration has caused losses forcing recorded impairment charges of more than $7 billion over the six months ending Dec. 31, 2025.
“To realize economies of scale, GM added EV production to existing assembly plants and developed a dedicated EV architecture and propulsion strategy,” reads a GM filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week. “These initiatives helped the company become the #2 sellers of EVs in North America beginning in the second half of 2024.”
Revocation of the tax incentives by the One Big Beautiful Act stopped that EV momentum cold for several U.S automakers.
Ford closed EV battery production on some of its plants but is shifting some of that battery production capacity toward stationary energy storage for the grid and distributed energy sectors.
GM, meanwhile, expects to record other charged accounting losses due to reduced customer demand for EVs. The company already has shifted its Orion, Michigan plan from EV production to assembling full-size sports utility vehicles and full-size pickups powered by internal combustion engines, according to the SEC filing.
“We proactively reduced battery cell capacity, including by selling our interest in Ultium Cells LLC’s Lansing, MI facility to LG Energy Solution,” the automakers regulatory filing reads, noting the Warren, Ohio Ultium plant where it laid off workers. “Our strategic realignment of EV capacity does not impact today’s retail portfolio of Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac EVs in production, and we plan to continue to make these models available to consumers.”
Those GM models include the Chevrolet Equinox electric SUV, the Bolt, Chevy Silverado EV truck and Hummer EV, among others.
Cox Automotive reported Tuesday that 2025 fourth quarter sales of EVs dropped 46%, down to about 234,000 units, compared with the third quarter. The long-running EV tax credits and incentives were revoked by legislation in October.
Overall, though, total EV sales in 2025 were nearly the same as one earlier, or slightly below 1.3 million vehicles. Thus, 2025 was the second-best year on record for EV sales, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates.
About the Author
EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is head of content for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
He can be reached at [email protected].
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.