Are EVs Running Out of Gas?

cazalea · 2026-04-13T23:54:17Z

Explore the shifting landscape of electric vehicles as Volkswagen, Ford, and Tesla adjust production. This article delves into market challenges, consumer preferences, and the future of EVs.

cazalea

WPS member · Automotive forum

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Cazalea's original post on the automotive forum sparked a lively debate about the future of electric vehicles, highlighting recent shifts from major manufacturers like Volkswagen, Ford, and Tesla. This discussion is particularly relevant as the industry navigates the complexities of EV adoption, production costs, and evolving consumer demand. Cazalea's insights provide a critical look at the challenges facing the EV market, prompting community members to share their diverse experiences and predictions.

Volkswagen Plant in Chattanooga, TN Axes Production of EV Model, Will Focus on New Gas-Powered SUV Lineup Instead

Volkswagen announced a shift in its U.S. production strategy on Thursday, confirming it will end assembly of its all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 at its Chattanooga plant and refocus efforts on its popular gas-powered SUV lineup. “Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant will shift its primary focus to higher‑volume models that support sustained growth in North America,” the automaker said. The move comes after the company scaled back ID.4 production and furloughed workers at its Chattanooga plant last year in response to declining demand for the EV model. Volkswagen recently said the plant will prioritize higher-volume vehicles, with the Volkswagen Atlas becoming its primary model.

Ford Motor lost $4.8 billion on its electric vehicle lines in fiscal year 2025.

Over the past few years, Ford has reported losses on its EV lines every quarter. During the company’s earnings call Tuesday, Sherry House, Ford’s CFO, said Ford doesn’t expect to break even on the Model-E division until fiscal year 2029. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company reported a loss of $1.2 billion on the Model-E division, down from $1.4 billion in the same quarter the previous year. The year-end losses for fiscal year 2025 were down from $5.1 billion in 2024. Ford sold 178,000 electric vehicles in fiscal year 2025, up from 105,000 in 2024. This brings the loss per EV to nearly $27,000. The electric truck plant will focus on gas powered trucks in the future... “This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley.

Tesla reported on Wednesday that its net income in 2025 plummeted 46%, to $3.8 billion; will turn factory into making humanoid robots

Tesla’s annual profit notably dropped to its lowest level in several years in 2025 amid ongoing struggles such as increased competition from other electric vehicle (EV) makers, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported last week. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday the company is scrapping the production of its Model S and X vehicles, and instead plans to convert its factory in Fremont, California to produce Optimus humanoid robots instead. “Humanoid robotics will advance very quickly. We do have some of the Tesla Optimus robots doing simple tasks in the factory… By the end of this year, I think they will be doing more complex tasks, and probably by the end of next year, I think we’d be selling humanoid robots to the public.” He emphasized that sales would begin when Tesla achieves “very high reliability, very high safety, and the functionality is also very high.”

For more discontinuted models, see this article in Car and DrIver

Key Points from the Discussion

Despite industry shifts, personal experience with EVs, like the BMW i5 edrive 40 Touring, indicates a strong preference for electric over internal combustion engines due to superior ride comfort, instant power delivery, and advanced drive systems.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is largely considered unviable for passenger cars due to its resource inefficiency compared to pure electric vehicles, with most manufacturers discontinuing significant programs.
Plug-in hybrids offer a superior driving experience on electric power compared to gas, suggesting that future car purchases will likely avoid traditional gas tanks. Government policies and short-term executive bonuses are seen as hindering EV adoption in the U.S.
The Toyota Mirai, while an interesting engineering exercise, is too rare to be practical for most consumers, highlighting the challenges of niche advanced technologies.
Modern EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5N represent significant advancements, offering impressive performance, though some earlier models had range limitations.
The overall trend shows a steady global decline in new internal combustion engine car sales, with growth driven by battery electric vehicles, indicating a clear long-term transition despite short-term market fluctuations.

The Discussion

AuHavrePro

Apr 14, 2026

I continue to believe that EVs are an excellent solution for commercial vehicle purposes, but, at best, an average solution for passenger vehicles. Hybrid powertrains and, hopefully, hydrogen are a much more promising alternative in my opinion....

enjoythemusic

Apr 14, 2026

Within some areas, electric is great. Brilliant even. Tho for a 1200 mile drive, perhaps dead dino juice is best.

mkvc

Apr 14, 2026

I have a plug-in hybrid. The driving experience when running on electricity is vastly better than the experience when running on gas. I cannot imagine at any time in the future buying a car with a gas tank. The U.S. government has done what it can to poison the field for EVs, and various automobile executives are watching their bonuses for the current year rather than the futures of their companies. In a few years, if we're lucky, we will all be driving EVs made by companies that are currently A

cazalea

Apr 14, 2026

Total driving between the three of about 200,000 miles. The plug-in hybrid Volt is the best option (for us) by far - gas for distance, electric for town with seamless switching. But too complex and expensive to build even for GM, so they are not building a 3rd generation.

mdg

Apr 14, 2026

...which means maybe best for people with means. As around town, shopping, church, etc. cars they are hard to beat. Almost no maintenance other than wipers and tires. In CA it's far cheaper than gas, especially these days.

cfn

Apr 14, 2026

An emotional subject for sure I am now driving a BMW i5 edrive 40 Touring after having owned (leased) three Mercedes EQBs, all 350 4Matic. After overcoming the initial stress related to range anxiety and a new process around charging on the go, I can wholeheartedly say that I will not go back to internal combustion engines if I can help it. For many reasons, the top ones being - Ride comfort - so quiet (for motor-sound enthusiasts, this is a clear draw-back…) - Great power/torque, always on tap

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