Another biggie pulls to side as EV startups forge ahead

A slew of announcements this week provided further evidence of a widening divide in the auto industry between traditional companies that are backtracking on electric vehicles and startups pushing ahead with models that cost less and charge faster.

Honda said on Thursday that it would scrap plans for three electric models it had planned to produce in the United States and that it would record its first annual loss since it listed its stock in 1957.

The Japanese carmaker joined Ford Motor, General Motors and Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler and Jeep vehicles, in taking multibillion-dollar hits to their profits as they delayed or canceled plans for electric vehicles and reckoned with the cost of investments in factories that would not pay off.

At the same time, Rivian and Lucid, US-based carmakers that sell only electric vehicles, provided details about models that would be priced under $50,000 and threaten to steal customers from established rivals. Current Rivian and Lucid vehicles start at more than $70,000, placing them out of reach for many buyers.

Sales of electric vehicles in the US have slumped after Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump killed incentives for EVs and gutted clean air standards, prompting many carmakers to cancel or delay plans for electric models. The administration has encouraged carmakers to sell more big pickups and sport utility vehicles.

“In the US, the expansion of the EV market has slowed down due to several factors, including the easing of fossil fuel regulations and revisions to EV incentives,” Honda, which has a large manufacturing operation near Columbus, Ohio, said in a statement.

The policy changes could be good for the carmakers’ bottom lines during the next few years. Pickups and SUVs tend to be more profitable than smaller cars, while most automakers lose money on electric vehicles.