Globally, automakers are feeling the burn as billions of dollars were incinerated with the EV transition that evaporated and ended with pushback, walk backs, and finally full on retreats with cancelled programs, DOA product plans, and automakers holding the empty money bags.
Now, automakers from Ford and Stellantis to GM, VW, and more are writing off unthinkable amounts of money and grappling with what comes next for today, tomorrow, and the future as everyone tries to compete both on the U.S. and the global stage. What comes next is the question with Honda taking its first-ever loss, Nissan shifting gears with gas-powered body-on-frame SUVs en route, Ford walking away from electric family haulers and towards less expensive electric trucks and SUVs (maybe even cars) alongside EREVs, and Stellantis putting V8s back into production while stalling its EVs while it figures out what’s next.
The latest episode of The Drivecast goes behind the curtain and tackles the states of the EV union, the trials, tribulations, mistakes, promises, and what happens next. Car companies spent most of 2025 in a wait-and-see position, but now they’ve waited and seen enough, and started to make big moves. It’s a wild and wildly expensive time to be an automaker, and the decisions being made now will have long-lasting effects on the shape of the global auto industry for years. We broke it down automaker by automaker and billion by billion.
New here? The Drivecast is The Drive‘s weekly podcast. Episodes arrive on Wednesdays, typically. The Drivecast takes you behind-the-scenes on the largest controversies, stories, and characters shaping the automotive industry and the way our roads look today. The Drive‘s inside access, original reporting, exclusives, and insights powers The Drivecast with the aim of making it so everyone is an insider.
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