The EV Reckoning of 2025: Lessons From Ford and Mercedes

The current Lightning won’t resume production; the next-generation Lightning successor (codenamed T3) has been canceled, and so has a new electric van.

The next Lightning will be an EREV—extended-range EV—with a gas engine that serves to recharge the battery. Its total range should be over 700 miles, but Ford offered no other details.

Ford has further plans to expand hybrids, especially for the bigger vehicles that are its bread and butter.

A Kentucky battery plant will make energy storage systems for AI data centers and such instead of EVs—although 1,600 people are out of work now.

Here’s an interesting data point: Ford’s upcoming Universal EV Platform is a $5 billion project. Cancelling these other plans costs nearly $20 billion.

Like nearly all automakers, Ford’s EV plans were overly ambitious as it sought to chase Tesla’s sky-high stock price. In 2018, it announced plans for 16 fully electric models by 2022, and 24 plug-in hybrids. (That didn’t pan out.)

The F-150 Lightning saw strong initial demand, but then sales dropped way below expectations. Buyers were turned off by its price tag and range deficiencies, especially while towing.

Ford also learned the hard way that you can’t just shove an EV battery into a gas car and call it a day. The production costs are too high.

Now it’s trying to reinvent car manufacturing, Tesla- and China-style, to get costs down.

Add in at least $1 billion in Trump tariff costs this year, no more EV tax credit, and no more fuel economy rules driving an electric future, and Ford says it makes financial sense to back off for now—and focus on the Universal EV Platform, starting with a $30,000 electric truck.

Last week, I drove the new, electric CLA-Class. It feels like an EV from another “traditional” automaker that has finally figured this stuff out.

You get 374 miles of range (real-world tests put it well over 400), with 320 kilowatt fast-charging—some of the fastest speeds available in America—so it can add 200 miles of range in 10 minutes.

The CLA’s software is also highly advanced, including an in-car AI assistant and more advanced automated driving tech coming soon.

All that for $47,250: less than the average new car in America.

Mercedes also struggled mightily with its first round of EVs.

Its EQS and EQE models alienated buyers with their lumpy styling, high price tags and middling specs. It is ending those for the U.S. market and also canceled a new EV platform for larger cars.

So this longtime technology leader went back to the drawing board. The CLA boasts a new EV platform that will underpin several high-range vehicles, and it also comes in hybrid form.

Even more promising EV models are coming, like the GLC With EQ Technology SUV next year, also with 400 miles of range and a price tag expected to be similar to the gas version.

And Mercedes is working on “megawatt” charging like some Chinese automakers, which may be able to recharge an EV in mere minutes.

Obviously, there’s a difference between a luxury-focused automaker like Mercedes and a truck-heavy one like Ford. But my point is this: some of these car companies are figuring EVs out.

Perhaps Ford is most guilty of sticking with a failing strategy for too long—or hinging everything on just three EV models in the U.S. market while others, like General Motors, got costs down through scale with new models.

Ford’s $30,000 EV truck isn’t even due out until sometime in 2027. That’s forever in EV years.

Its Universal EV Platform had better succeed. Ford CEO Jim Farley has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the competitive risk from China’s automakers. Now, that’s Ford’s first and last line of defense.

In the meantime, Ford’s answer is “consumer choice,” that focus-group-tested line the whole industry is following now: “This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” Farley said.

I’d add that EREVs sound great—several automakers think they have potential for big trucks and SUVs. But they do not exist in the U.S. at all right now, are as unproven as EVs, and also require a lot of customer education.

Finally, Mercedes isn’t out of the woods here. Its next-gen EVs seem very impressive, but right now, it is also struggling with profits, staying flexible with hybrid models and facing a “make or break” 2026. And its dealers still have to get people into these EVs.

But the German brand proves EVs can get better, cheaper and more enticing to consumers if automakers commit to keeping up with them. Any who don’t will likely regret it later.

Our whole crop of cars for the second annual InsideEVs Breakthrough Awards was remarkably impressive. Go here to see which one got the top honors. [InsideEVs]

Has the U.S. been too protectionist in dealing with China’s auto sector, rather than investing in true competitiveness? This analysis argues yes. [Council on Foreign Relations]

In Europe, Chinese carmakers got around EV import tariffs by pivoting to hybrids. And sales of both have skyrocketed there. [The Economist]

Uber is pulling back on incentives for its drivers to switch to EVs. [Bloomberg]

The year in EVs, illustrated in 10 charts. [Recurrent]

Could Tesla and Aurora veteran Sterling Anderson become General Motors’ next CEO? I have wondered that myself, and this report indicates he is “emerging as a candidate.” [Bloomberg]

As I’ve said before, the decline in EV sales in America is closely linked to skyrocketing new-car prices. But globally, EVs are going down in price. How will automakers respond in the U.S.? [ZETA]

“We are likely to see a shift from a clean, all-or-nothing cut-off, to a more flexible compliance system” as the EU backs off its gas-engine ban. But what does that really mean over time in terms of powertrain offerings? [Reuters]

Meanwhile, Volkswagen just closed its first German factory ever. Will any of these EV reversals really help its fortunes? [New York Times]

Modern gas engines keep failing. Have we pushed internal combustion to its literal breaking point? [Hagerty]

Oslo is called “the world’s EV Capital.” Here’s how it pulled off the infrastructure for that. [Bloomberg]

Ionna, the charging venture funded by several automakers, is about to hit a growth milestone even Tesla couldn’t match. [InsideEVs]

Tesla could be turning to modular construction startup Boxabl for amenities at Supercharger stations, like lounges and restrooms. [Drive Tesla Canada]

Similarly, Rangeway is partnering with ReNüTeq to build solar-powered canopies and lounges at its stations. Bathrooms are good! [EV Power Insights]

A new analysis shows that Q3 was a record one in America for DC fast-charging installations. [Ohm Analytics]

Blink Charging announced a $20 million public offering of common stock, as it shifts from making EV chargers itself to working with contract manufacturers. [WA Business Journals]

Sixteen states and D.C are suing the Trump administration, saying it continues to withhold $2 billion in funding for EV charging programs. [Associated Press]

Top Gear’s U.S. Tech Award for 2025 goes to the Porsche Cayenne’s wireless charging system. [Top Gear]

Meanwhile, Ford’s pivot means it will turn an EV battery plant into one that makes energy storage systems for AI data centers and the like—but more than 1,600 workers will lose their jobs. [Courier-Journal]

A new patented technology from Stellantis adds a built-in emergency fire-suppression system to EV batteries. [Mopar Insiders]

Battery recycling startup Redwood Materials introduces the Battery Bin, a place to safely deposit your old batteries and devices for future repurposing. [FastCompany]

Castrol (yes, that one) is developing a new cooling fluid to keep EV batteries down longer, helping them to charge faster. [TheCoolDown]

Tesla’s stock price may end the year at an all-time high as investors feel optimistic about its Robotaxi rollout. [CNBC]

Waymo is in discussions to raise more than $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion, in a financing round led by parent company Alphabet. [Bloomberg]

Meanwhile, Tesla is getting “one more chance” from the DMV in California to change how it describes Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, or it could lose its sales license in its biggest market. [The Guardian]

From Alphabet to Zoox, 2025 was the year autonomous taxis got serious. Here’s a rundown of the big players—and where China stands in all of it. [CNBC]

Lidar manufacturer Luminar has filed for bankruptcy after months of troubles, including losing a contract from Volvo, its biggest customer. [TechCrunch]

Mobileye, the vision and self-driving tech company, is laying off workers amid “shrinking demand and revenue.” [Times of Israel]

The case for autonomous vehicles that benefit the disabled community in San Francisco and beyond. [SF Standard]

Waymo and Tesla’s self-driving systems are more similar than people think. Read this for an education on how they work. [Understanding AI]

Jeep is the latest brand to branch out into AI-generated ads, and as you might expect, not everyone is happy about it. [USA Today]

Augmented reality windshields, personalized experiences: LG Electronics will be one of about a billion companies bringing bold AI ideas to CES in early January. [Business Korea]

Since Tesla is now considered an AI stock, Barclays says its Q4 delivery numbers may not even matter. [Yahoo Finance]