The year 2025 is only half over. But for some of global automakers' most ambitious electric vehicle projects, the In Memoriam segment is already shaping up to be a sad one. Major manufacturers including Honda, Stellantis, and Nissan publicly backed off plans to build and sell battery-electric vehicles, joining others who have made similar admissions in the past two years. Vehicle program cancellations aren't the sign of a thriving industry. Traditional automakers work on five- to seven-year product cycles, which means they've already started spending money to design, plan, and produce vehicles that won't roll onto dealers' lots for years. Nixing those vehicles means losing money and leaving holes in their portfolios'something automakers won't do without good reason. The good reason here seems to mostly come down to utter chaos in the EV market. Some five years ago, automakers seemed desperate to catch up with Tesla and its sky-high valuation, and so made grand pledges. Mercedes-Benz...
learn more
