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Detroit Automakers Take $50 Billion Hit (msn.com) 179

Posted by msmash from the vroom-vroom-is-back dept.
The Detroit Big Three -- General Motors, Ford and Stellantis -- have collectively announced more than $50 billion in write-downs on their electric-vehicle businesses after years of aggressive investment into a transition that, even before Republican lawmakers abolished a $7,500 federal tax credit last fall, was already running below expectations.

U.S. EV sales fell more than 30% in the fourth quarter of 2025 once the credit expired in September, and Congress also eliminated federal fuel-efficiency mandates. More than $20 billion in previously announced investments in EV and battery facilities were canceled last year -- the first net annual decrease in years, according to Atlas Public Policy.

GM has laid off thousands of workers and is converting plants once earmarked for EV trucks and motors to produce gas-powered trucks and V-8 engines. Ford dissolved a joint venture with a South Korean conglomerate to make batteries and now plans to build just one low-cost electric pickup by 2027. Stellantis is unloading its stake in a battery-making business after booking the largest EV-related charge of any automaker so far. Outside the U.S., the trajectory looks different: China's BYD recently overtook Tesla as the world's largest EV seller.
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Detroit Automakers Take $50 Billion Hit More

Detroit Automakers Take $50 Billion Hit

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  • China is leaving the US in the dust (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @07:34PM (#65987702) Homepage Journal

    We can't compete, and it appears we don't even want to try anymore.
    In 20 years your average American won't even be able to afford an American car, so I guess this hardly matters.

    • Re:China is leaving the US in the dust (Score:5, Insightful)

      by caseih ( 160668 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @08:20PM (#65987818)

      In 20 years? The big three US automakers have been focused on the luxury market for years, ceding much of the affordable compact car market to the likes of Kia and Toyota (foreign-owned, some domestic production). GM, Ford, and whatever you call Chrysler hardly make any cars anymore. They mostly make trucks and luxury SUVs. And they have been very successful at it and make tons of money. But the side effect is that few average Americans can really afford their products right now.

      When GM's CEO whines about Canada letting in Chinese EVs , the hypocrisy is on full display, since that is a market they decided they don't want to bother with anyway. They were happy enough to try it when the could get the subsidy.

      • Re:China is leaving the US in the dust (Score:5, Insightful)

        by LDA6502 ( 7474138 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @08:58PM (#65987874)

        This. When GM brought back the Bolt after a massive outcry, only the compact crossover was resurrected, not the smaller sub-compact hatchback. So if you want a tiny electric city car for commuting, you're out of luck.

        Meanwhile, every major Chinese automaker has compact and sub-compact BEVs (and often PHEVs) that are affordable. So I can only imagine how quickly US brands are going to cede the Canadian, Caribbean, and Latin American markets to the Chinese and Koreans.

        • When GM brought back the Bolt after a massive outcry, only the compact crossover was resurrected, not the smaller sub-compact hatchback. So if you want a tiny electric city car for commuting, you're out of luck.

          My partner has a Bolt EUV, I have a Bolt EV. The differences between the vehicle designs is almost entirely down to aesthetics. Yeah, the EUV is a few mm larger in places, but it's imperceivable when you're driving it, and makes absolutely no difference when it comes to practical cargo capacity*. Basically, the EUV looks "sportier", which is neither here nor there when you're comparing compact hatchbacks.

          * One time, I actually brought home a heat pump clothes dryer from Best Buy in the back of my Bolt.

          • * One time, I actually brought home a heat pump clothes dryer from Best Buy in the back of my Bolt. It's rather surprising what will actually fit in that tiny car.

            This is the dirty secret of car design the Big Car lobby doesn't want you to know about. Small cars are infamously designed for versatility, larger luxury cars are not. My bicycle fits in the back of our hatchback, but it doesn't fit in the back of my sedan despite the latter being 1.3m longer. Small cars focus on maximising space in their design, large cars focus on looking good.

            Suddenly you're thinking "I have a big sedan but I can't do something as simple as buy a TV, maybe it's time I bought a pickup tr

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Out of interest, since Chinese cars are effectively banned in the US, can you just go to Canada and buy one, and drive it back into the US anyway?

          • You can probably drive it there, but that doesnâ(TM)t mean youâ(TM)re importing it. Actually importing can be a pain in the arse and potentially expensive. It will need to comply with federal and perhaps local regulations, which isnâ(TM)t a given, even if importing from a jurisdiction with stricter emissions and safety requirements, or a similar regime like Canadaâ(TM)s. If the vehicle hasnâ(TM)t previously been deemed eligible, thatâ(TM)s more work. You might also need to

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Thanks, that's interesting. One of the nice things about the EU is that moving vehicles is fairly easy.

          • There are exceptions, but it's a hassle to import a car less than 25 years old into the US. The exceptions cost extra money for certification.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by caseih ( 160668 )

            No you can't. Mainly because there really aren't any available not do I expect their ever will be. Except for Tesla and polestar, there are no Chinese EVs that meet north American standards. This was true before the EV tariff. Tesla was the biggest importer of EVs made in China.

            But even if you could actually buy a Chinese EV I'm Canada you'd have to import it into the US, subjecting yourself to the tariff of you were allowed to import at all.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by caseih ( 160668 )

              Sigh. Gboard made a mess of that post and I didn't hit preview. My apologies for the noise

          • Canadians and Mexicans can drive their Chinese EVs into the US. I live near the border and I frequently see Chinese EVs with foreign plates. There are restrictions on how long those vehicles can remain in the US, though.

            Here is a Wired article [wired.com] on how to import Chinese vehicles into the US, FYI.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        The thing about American “luxury” SUVs is that they’re incredibly expensive but they’re not at all luxurious inside. The standard of fit and finish is poor, with cheap materials abounding, the ride is uncomfortable and pillowy, the tech is at least 10, often 15 years out of date. They’re like a pastiche of luxury, rather than actually being luxurious. It reminds me of the faux-Eiffel Tower in Vegas or an American hotel room in Chicago or San Francisco at a “luxury”

        • It reminds me of the faux-Eiffel Tower in Vegas or an American hotel room in Chicago or San Francisco at a “luxury” brand like Ritz-Carlton

          We have an office in Chicago so I spend a lot of time travelling there and staying in many hotels (including the Ritz). It hardly deserves the airquotes you're giving it. If you want the real air-quotes look at Trump Tower. $150 more than a comparable Ritz room, off-brand Nespresso capsules, their "marble bathtub" is a plastic one with marble tiles around them, which isn't the problem, but the issue is those tiles are small, poorly laid, and above all not rounded on the bathtub edge making it the single le

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by shilly ( 142940 )

            Komo is not a separate hotel from Shambhala. And the Komo Shambhala has exactly the private pool next to your bed that you mentioned with the Dorado beach.

            An East Beach plunge at the Dorado Beach does not begin to compare to a Pool Villa at Como Shambhala. It’s much smaller (92sq m vs 235sq m), the outdoor space is meager, the quality of the fittings is massively lower, etc. The Pool Villas at Como are substantially cheaper than the East Beach Plunges at Dorado.

            https://www.comohotels.com/bal... [comohotels.com]
            https:/ [ritzcarlton.com]

        • That's not true for the last few years, they now have quality materials and responsive infotainment. However, they still generally have low tech powertrains. They're also not cheap to maintain any more. Ford parts are priced like Mercedes parts.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by shilly ( 142940 )

            My experience of the interiors of luxury US SUVs is that they are nowhere near as quality as, eg, a Merc or BMW.

    • In 20 years your average American won't even be able to afford an American car, so I guess this hardly matters.

      We're already there, if you're talking about a purchase of the average priced vehicle with the average median income. The average American is buying someone else's sloppy seconds through the likes of Carvana and CarMax, and the really lower income folks? They're buying beaters.

      The poor? Maybe an e-scooter or e-bike, if they're lucky.

    • There haven't been any fully american cars for a long time.
      Today it's just a badge slapped on a vehicle assembled from foreign parts.

  • Wow, this writedown is the perfect time to buy stock in your favorite automaker.

    BRB, it's time for me to buy some F (Ford) stock.

    • I have all the Toyota I want, thanks.

  • How I'm reading it... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 13, 2026 @07:54PM (#65987766)
    Established US automakers that had been in the business for over 100 years couldn't compete with the low-quality EVs getting built by newcomer, Tesla. Let alone the ones coming from China.

    • Re: How I'm reading it... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by alcmena ( 312085 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @08:15PM (#65987810)

      As a three time Tesla owner, I can state their cars were not low quality. In virtually every possible way they were better than any Big 3 car I ever drove. Owned a 2016 S that I traded in for a 2022 S. Wife had a 2018 3. Both traded in last April.

      We ditched our Teslas last year for Ioniq 5's, but that decision had nothing to do with the car quality. I just couldn't keep dealing with the Musk that hovered in the air being a Tesla owner anymore.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by caseih ( 160668 )

        Will Hyundai ever fix the stupidity where you cannot precondition the battery for fast charging without being forced to use the in-dash navigation system? Seems so dumb. It's just a software switch they need to expose.

        In general this insistence on putting wheels on a computer really turns me off of EVs, though I really want one. EV makers seem to think that drivers are too stupid to drive without the navigation system on telling them how to drive to their local grocery store (which happens to have a fast

        • TBH as a owner of EVs since 2012 and an all in owner (no gas left) since 2018, I can say I have no idea. Because I have used L2 chargers for almost everything and think I used super chargers maybe 3 times ever. I haven't used them in the year since I traded in the Tesla's for Ioniq's.

          While I have no doubt fast charging can matter. I think the actual need for it is overestimated by non-EV folks.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Sique ( 173459 )
            To me, it's very important, as I can't charge at home, because the apartment house I live in does not have wall boxes in the parking garage.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shilly ( 142940 )

          This is the car for you, then! Although you’ll struggle to get your hands on one

          https://www.caricecars.com/ [caricecars.com]

        • Will Hyundai ever fix the stupidity where you cannot precondition the battery for fast charging without being forced to use the in-dash navigation system?

          I live in Canada. I have a 2020 Kia EV (Kia & Hyundai largely share the same tech stack).

          My EV has a "Winter Mode" setting. When I turn it on it automatically preconditions the battery at -5c or colder.

          I almost never use DC Fast Chargers, so it's turned off, but it is just a "switch" like you're asking for.

          https://uni.hi.is/helmut/files... [uni.hi.is]

      • Re: How I'm reading it... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by linuxguy ( 98493 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @08:36PM (#65987838) Homepage

        We have 3 Teslas in our family. They are good cars. But, we bought them before Musk went insane. We are not likely to ever buy another Tesla. We are not in need of another vehicle anytime soon. Hopefully by the time we do, some other viable options will become available.

        If the country ever started allowing the Chinese EVs in, that might just doom the doom the ICE makers for good.

      • As a three time Tesla owner, I can state their cars were not low quality.

        Maybe the AC was referring to the body panel fitment issues which seemed to be a thing for awhile. *shrug*

        Personally, I just never could get past that everything about the car felt like it was unapologetically designed by a software company.

        • I know some people who bought a Tesla that had ten different recalls in the time they owned it. Doesn't matter what it is for, you don't buy an expensive car that you can never drive. They went back to an ICE very quickly.

      • Re: How I'm reading it... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Puls4r ( 724907 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @09:19PM (#65987918)
        And you would be wrong. As someone who works at vehicle teardowns and evaluations - Tesla allows quality defects through that NO other automaker would even contemplate. They make engineering decisions that would never be considered by other automakers because they result in problems. Glueing on body panels incorrectly. Cracks in their aluminum extrusions. I could keep going. Tesla built at the price point they did by over-advertising and under-building. Their hype machine was second to none. And now, without the electric subsidy and the ability to sell their carbon credits to the big 3, they are essentially exiting the business.

      • As a three time Tesla owner, I can state their cars were not low quality. In virtually every possible way they were better than any Big 3 car I ever drove.

        Not exactly a high bar there.

      • In virtually every possible way they were better than any Big 3 car I ever drove.

        That's quite a low bar Tesla has managed to hurdle over. The "Big 3" rank among the most rubbish cars I've ever driven from a quality point of view. Teslas are not low quality, but my problem with them is the quality isn't commensurate with their price. The fit and finish of a comparable BMW or Audi is far nicer, as is the ride.

        That said we're only talking fit and finish here. There's quite some joy in the neck snapping torque of a dual motor Tesla, and you can't argue their driver assistance feature isn't

  • Maybe US automakers should focus on quality (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Korea, Japan and China have been eating US auto's lunch for decades with no sign of change on the horizon. US cars are junk and always have been from a manufacturing quality standpoint. Good luck getting one past 100k without major issue and 200k is just a unicorn where stars aligned for one particular vehicle in a run of 1000s.

    • Re:Maybe US automakers should focus on quality (Score:5, Insightful)

      by cusco ( 717999 ) <brian.bixby@gm a i l.com> on Friday February 13, 2026 @08:56PM (#65987872)

      My uncle worked at the Chrysler Proving Grounds where he got to do the fun things like drive cars into brick walls and T-bone them with steel rails. In the late '70s they sent most of his team out to wreaking yards around the country. There they looked for vehicles with more than 70,000 miles and tore them apart, their task was to look for parts that were not wearing as fast as others. For example if the swing arms were still in good shape the company would lean on the manufacturer to lower the quality so that they would also fail before 100,000 miles, that way high-mileage vehicles would rapidly become too expensive to maintain and owners would be forced to buy a new vehicle. He said that he met testers from the other big car companies in some of the junkyards doing the same thing.

      I suspect management had been "inspired" by the poem "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay".

      https://www.gutenberg.org/file... [gutenberg.org]

      • While one way of reading this is to make cars fail earlier, you actually missed a point that is grounded in engineering reliability. You take a system, look at its expected life. If that life is governed by specific parts or failures, then any over engineered solution elsewhere in the system is just that, over-engineered.

        In the 70s 100,000 miles wasn't an unreasonable goal. The average car ended up in the scrap heap at 100000 miles usually because of rust or fundamental body problems. These were the dominan

    • I sold my old ‘95 Jeep at 185k miles. It had a minor oiled leaks. But no major problems. I have a 2015 Jeep that has 85k miles and has had no issues except the start/stop gas saving feature no longer functions most of the time. Apparently it has to do with some faulty sensor in a door that doesn't affect anything else. Frankly, I don’t miss the feature and the car drives better without it anyway. Both Jeeps were/are great. They legit take care of business off road and in a storm while being a co

  • Saturated market (Score:2, Insightful)

    by devslash0 ( 4203435 )

    Those who wanted to get an EV, have already got one. The others are not martyrs and are not going to make their life more difficult for a higher cause.

    • The tax credit ending didn't help matters. Plus, somewhere around 34% of Americans are renters and that makes owning an EV a massive pain in the ass if you can't charge it at home.

      We probably are nearing saturation point where everyone who wanted an EV, has a place to charge it, and could afford it, already has one. Adjusted for inflation, gas is still kind of cheap throughout much of the US and utility rates are rising due to AI data center demand, so the cost savings of going EV aren't as significant as

    • 15 years on and not a single hatchback. I wish I could get one. I have solar and a garage. My gas would be basically free.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        The Ioniq 5 has a hatchback rear door. But if you mean a small hatchback like a Renault 5, then you’re correct

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jbengt ( 874751 )

      Those who wanted to get an EV, have already got one.

      I want one, and I haven't gotten one yet. (don't buy cars very often)

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 )

      Those who wanted to get an EV, have already got one. The others are not martyrs and are not going to make their life more difficult for a higher cause.

      And you have just highlighted the problem. People in general are completely clueless about EVs.

      Everyone who wants one already has one? They come at a price premium in a price conscious industry. No there are plenty of people who want one but can't get one yet.
      Martyrs? Difficult? Those are words used by people who haven't owned one. To be fair I would have used those words a while back too. Now I reflect on how ignorant and stupid I was using them. There's nothing difficult about owning an EV.
      Higher cause? W

      • I need a car that can do at oeast 300 miles in a day on a single charge with 4 people on board, 4 backpacks, all 300 at motorway speeds in cold and wet conditions. I also don't want to pay more than 10k GBP for it. Let me know when such unicorn ever appears. It's what all ICEs offer by default.

        • Subject to price, of course. I never buy brand new cars. Too much depreciation in the first 5 years. It's a waste of money.

        • Congrats. 99% of the population don't need that. But thanks for demonstrating my point perfectly. Your complaint ended exclusively price. There are many EVs on the market that meet your other conditions, and you *can't* buy one because of price.

  • In fact, I struggle to think of any politically-dictated from on high business decision that didn't end up with some poor sap taking a bath.

    • That's a matter of perspective. The ban on whaling was disastrous if you happened to be a whaler, but the petroleum industry made bank.

      An "EV mandate" the likes of what the right-wing constantly fearmongered over would've been a huge boon to Tesla, and any other automakers who managed to get their EV act together. After the dust settles, there'd be winners and there'd be losers - but that's just business. How many Blockbuster Video stores you see around these days?

      • The ban on whaling did not cause the oil boom any more than a ban on horseshit in the streets caused the mass adoption of the automobile. And blockbuster wasn't legislated or regulated out of existence.

        Self-evidently superior products and technologies displaced less appealing or more costly ones in all three cases.

        The fact that EVs couldn't make a go of it even with mandates and subsidies should make it clear that they never had the kind of mass appeal as self-evidently superior in any way people cared abou

  • Instead of taking this opportunity to learn from their own failures. These companies are relying on a tenuous political landscape that keeps them under protection from competition.

    Wouldn't be investing in any of these soon-to-fail corporations.

  • RIP US automakers (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Cyberax ( 705495 ) on Friday February 13, 2026 @10:00PM (#65987990)
    Well, the Ford guy toured the Chinese companies, got scared, and decided that it's a good time to squeeze the automakers for the last dregs of profits. Before they go down for good.

    Meanwhile, Africa and Asia are getting flooded by Chinese EVs. That are now superior to gas cars on price and reliability. And that can be charged from local solar, not depending on imported gas. The cheapest Chinese EVs are now less than $10k, and you can get a very reasonable EV for $15k.

    It's amazing seeing the entire industry self-destructing before our eyes.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Well, the Ford guy toured the Chinese companies, got scared, and decided that it's a good time to squeeze the automakers for the last dregs of profits. Before they go down for good.

      Meanwhile, Africa and Asia are getting flooded by Chinese EVs. That are now superior to gas cars on price and reliability. And that can be charged from local solar, not depending on imported gas. The cheapest Chinese EVs are now less than $10k, and you can get a very reasonable EV for $15k.

      It's amazing seeing the entire industry

    • They will just do some more tariffs and we will have no choice.

      We are becoming the soviet union of America.

  • after years of aggressive investment into a transition that, even before Republican lawmakers abolished a $7,500 federal tax credit last fall, was already running below expectations. U.S. EV sales fell more than 30% in the fourth quarter of 2025 once the credit expired in September, and Congress also eliminated federal fuel-efficiency mandates.

    sounds like the big 3's balance sheet sheet was in the negative before the expiration (August, September?) but shit really hit the fan after September? is that a fair take?

  • Either we have a fast charger for every gas nozzle in the country so we don't have to plan gas stops (because some folks are following courses set by others without regard to charging), or the cars themselves have to have insanely long ranges like 750 - 900 miles so's we can make do with the rare density of fast chargers.

    I say fast chargers because nothing else is any good when you're trying to cover 100's of miles in a day. You can't sit around for an hour every 200 - 250 miles and have an equivalent-to-

    • Do I want to recharge every 250 miles or so? No.

      You don't take a reasonable break every 4 hours? It's antisocial to do so because you're much more likely to lose concentration and crash and you may harm someone other than yourself in the process.

    • I know so many people who do long trips. It's really amazing to me that most EV owners have never heard of that.

    • Selfish Americans... bitching that everything new has to be better in every way. Wait an hour every 200 miles is a small price to pay for a better future for the planet. No, they don't care even if it impacts them a bit even in 10 years. Many can't grasp the idea of paying upfront for a solar roof that takes under 15 years to payback; even if it's then free for the rest of their life. I'm beginning to think that stuff about apes not being able to plan long term being one of the few evolved human traits

  • Net Profit per Vehicle: Based on 2025's total GAAP net income of $3.8 billion and 1.63 million deliveries, Tesla’s average net profit per electric vehicle is approximately $2,33 while shifting focus, moving away from a "hardware-centric" car business toward "physical AI," including FSD subscriptions, Robotaxis, and Optimus robots, to offset slowing automotive growth. The legacy "Detroit Three" have collectively vaporized over $50 billion in 2025-2026 to unwind EV bets that failed to meet demand. htt [share.google]

  • They just chose not to take it.

  • About 20 years ago, I read a report that suggested health care expenses were adding $1400 to the price of each American made car. Itâ(TM)s a competitive disadvantage. Itâ(TM)s probably more now. American health care is so inefficient and expensive.

  • Tens of billions of dollars worth of subsidies. They were indirect subsidies so they're not as noticeable but they were still subsidies.

    The point is that it's not surprising these companies are having to splash cash to build out electric cars.

    But at this point electric cars are basically inevitable because solar power is basically free. Look up the technology connections video about it on YouTube. If it wasn't for the oil companies slowing down the transition we would be well on our way to completel

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