US transition to electric vehicles delayed: automakers massively cancel and freeze EV projects (1 photo)

In 2025, major automakers began to abandon their ambitious plans to produce electric cars in the United States en masse, which seemed very promising just a couple of years ago. The reasons were a decrease in demand, changes in US government policy and problems in the supply chain.



A decrease in interest in electric cars in the United States, rising tariffs and changes in regulation led to companies such as Honda, Nissan, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis publicly announcing the cancellation or postponement of the launch of their EV models. Many of these projects had been in development for several years, and their closure led to financial losses, writes Wired.

Five years ago, automakers were actively announcing America's transition to electric cars. Mercedes-Benz and Volvo planned to go fully electric by 2030, General Motors by 2035. However, the pandemic, increased regulation, slowing sales growth, and policy changes have forced these plans to be revised. In the US, a new Republican bill and changes in tariff policy have also negatively affected the development of infrastructure for electric vehicles.

According to consulting company AlixPartners, forecasts for sales of electric vehicles and hybrids by 2030 have decreased by 46% compared to last year's estimates. Mark Wakefield, head of the automotive industry at AlixPartners, noted that the last five years have been characterized by constant upheaval, and project cancellations are part of this process. At the same time, he emphasized that automakers have to react faster to changes in the face of competition from Chinese companies that are able to bring new models to market in less than two years (instead of the standard 5-7 years in the US). At the same time, Hannah Hess, an energy and climate expert at Rhodium Group, noted that more and more companies are simply stopping talking about their EV projects without officially announcing their cancellation.

Among the canceled models, Wired listed a three-row electric Ford SUV, electric sedans from Nissan and Infiniti, the Mercedes-Benz MB.EA-Large platform "died" in May 2024, and the electric version of the Maserati MC20 Folgore "went away" in March 2025. Also terminated was the Apple Car project (Project Titan), which faced internal difficulties and a change in the company's priorities, and the Fisker startup, which suspended development due to financial problems and then declared bankruptcy. The Volvo All-EV lineup ceased to exist in September 2024.

Some models were not canceled, but postponed. These include the electric Porsche 718 (delayed due to declining demand and the bankruptcy of battery supplier Northvolt), Ferrari (postponed the release of its second electric car to 2028), Lamborghini (postponed electric models to 2029-2035). Buick and General Motors (GM) have also delayed the launch of their first electric model and revised their strategy for switching to electric vehicles by 2035. Honda has abandoned a new series of electric cars that was supposed to hit the roads in 2026.

Tesla, in turn, has revised plans for the most affordable electric car, previously scheduled for release in 2025, and focused on other projects, including the launch of driverless taxis in Texas.