GM, Ford EV Mentions Drop Sharply on Earnings Calls
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- TechCrunch and Hudson Labs analyzed seven years of GM and Ford quarterly earnings transcripts and found both automakers now discuss EVs at a lower rate than they did before the pandemic.
- General Motors saw EV mentions plummet from 82 on its Q2 2025 call to 21 on its most recent Q2 2026 call — a drop that followed Trump's repeal of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and his rollback of zero-emissions regulations.
- Ford began pulling back on EV discussion before the 2024 election, shifting resources toward a skunkworks project that became its Universal Electric Vehicle platform, set to launch next year with a midsize pickup truck.
- Both automakers have altered, delayed, or abandoned new EV model plans over the past two years, a retreat that has triggered layoffs and scaled-back factory plans.
- GM spokesperson Jim Cain said "quality counts more than quantity," arguing EVs remain "the end game" while noting GM now devotes more earnings call time to software, services, and autonomous technology.
- Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors the company "will become a major scaled competitor as we invest in affordable, versatile EVs" — but conceded that scaling won't arrive until at least next year.
Why it matters: Two of America's largest automakers are publicly reaffirming EVs as "the end game" while their actual earnings-call behavior tells a quieter story: mention counts are collapsing, new factories are being scaled back, and the only concrete near-term EV launch — Ford's midsize pickup — won't arrive until 2027, leaving investors with years of subdued EV visibility.
