Unless your name is Tesla, the US EV market has been a minefield for original equipment manufacturers. There was a dangerous crack as customers set a sales record for the first three quarters of 2025.
American consumers flocked to car dealerships to buy EVs last year, until September 30, when the $7,500 EV tax credit expired. But even in the third quarter, during the height of that buying frenzy, customers bought 90 different EV models; only nine sold more than 10,000 units.
This is the non-Tesla EV climate in which EV makers must compete, and it has forced General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, the Detroit Big 3, to completely reevaluate their strategies.
“Most EVs sell at much less than 2,000 units per month, or 6,000 units per quarter. In a volume-driven business, low volume is the enemy; EV profitability remains a distant dream for almost every automaker,” Cox Automotive said last year.
GM confirmed this when it held its first quarter earnings last month. CFO Paul Jacobson said EV’s quarterly loss was down several hundred million dollars year over year due to lower volumes. GM, Ford and Stellantis lose money on every EV they sell, so selling fewer of them is better for their bottom lines.
Despite this fact, OEMs are not abandoning EV production. All still see EVs as the future of transportation and point to the success of their hybrid models (and Tesla’s) to show that there is still demand to be found.
But each manufacturer seems to have a different strategy to bridge the gap between current demand and what they expect in the near future.
Ford is shifting away from more expensive EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach e.Bloomberg / Getty Images
Ford CEO explains company’s EV strategy for the future
In Detroit 3, Ford seems to be working hard on its EV strategy. And it needs to be since it wrote down $19.5 billion in EV-related losses.
Ford is completely changing its strategy. Instead of making expensive EVs, Ford wants to build a range of vehicles starting under $30,000, and is relying on its Skunk Works innovation division to deliver more affordable platforms.
Ford Model e loss per year
2025: $4.8 billion
2024: $5.1 billion
2023: $4.7 billion
2022: $2.2 billion
“By the end of the decade, 90% of our global nameplates will offer electrified powertrains, including advanced hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles, and full EVs,” CEO Jim Farley said on Ford’s first-quarter earnings call.
Ford is converting its Louisville Assembly Plant to build its Universal Electric Vehicle program, which supports multiple EV models built in one location. That plant is expected to produce the next generation of Ford EVs by 2027.
Two years ago, Ford announced plans to reduce its EV production capacity by 35%, and Farley said last year that “the most expensive EVs, $50k, $60k, $70k EVs weren’t selling.”
According to Ford, the EV battery can account for 40% of the vehicle’s cost, so the company has rethought EV battery technology to make it smaller and more economical.
Ford says its plan is to make EVs profitable by 2029. The Model E lost about $4.8 billion last year.
General Motors’ EV focus is on the present, not the future, like Ford
While EVs were a big part of Ford CEO Jim Farley’s opening remarks to investors during the company’s call, GM CEO Mary Barra didn’t discuss it much.
His first talk about electric vehicles was to share the good news that GM EV market share rose to nearly 13% from 10% quarter-over-quarter, while CFO Paul Jacobson talked about the benefits of lower EV volumes.
GM is about to cut losses from its electric division as a company, which took $6 billion in EV costs in the fourth quarter alone, including $1.8 billion in non-cash charges and $4.2 billion in supplier sales, impairment and contract cancellation costs.
“We are very focused on improving EV profitability and growing our business as market adoption grows, albeit at a slower pace than expected,” Jacobson said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
Of the $5.6 billion in EV-related fees recorded through the second quarter of 2025, GM has repaid nearly $2.6 billion as of March 31.
“We continue to expect revenues in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion for the calendar year as we optimize our EV capacity and operate at very low EV volumes,” Jacobson said.
Stellantis is unveiling future EV plans, but it has some big issues to fix first
Earlier this year, Stellantis said it took a $26 billion charge on its EV losses, leading to its first annual loss in 2025.
While EVs are clearly a multi-billion dollar issue, Stellantis also has a few other changes.
New CEO Antonio Filosa is about a year into his new gig, and the company has to figure out what to do with its growing portfolio of 14 brands. Last year, the company announced that it was abandoning its plan to sell 100% EVs by 2030.
But that doesn’t mean the company is completely abandoning its EV ambitions; after all, the company has a big history in Europe, where the EV market is much more mature than here in the US.
Last December, Stellantis presented the fruits of its collaboration with Saft, a new Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS) that could change EVs forever.
IBIS systems embed the functionality of the inverter and charger directly into the battery, regardless of chemistry or application, according to Automotive World.
This structure provides electrical power directly to the engine or grid, while also powering the vehicle’s 12V network and auxiliary systems.
The benefits of the IBIS battery system for EVs include:
Up to 10% improvement in energy efficiency
Reducing the weight of the car by 88 lbs. (40 kg), which releases up to 17 liters of volume
15% reduction in charging time
Easy maintenance
Stellantis didn’t go into much detail about its EV plan during its first quarter earnings call.
Related: Jeep, Ram parent Stelantis announces $70 billion in changes
This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 23, 2026, where it appeared first in the Auto category. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
