General Motors had kind of a biggish announcement this morning, which should anger progressives and the Green grifters.

So, pretty encouraging for normal people hoping to see manufacturing claw their way free of the madness.

General Motors said Tuesday it is again slowing its plans for all-electric vehicles by further delaying a second U.S. electric truck plant and the Buick brand’s first EV.

The six-month delay in retooling the electric truck plant in Michigan, until mid-2026, also means GM will not achieve a prior target of having North American production capacity of 1 million EVs by 2025.

CEO Mary Barra's business argle-bargle had some interesting nuances to it.

...The changes add new questions about the Detroit automaker’s plans for future battery cell plants other than two current joint venture facilities with LG Energy Solution in North America. GM previously announced plans for four of the multibillion-dollar plants in the U.S. by 2026.

Barra on Tuesday said the company would grow cell production in a “meaningful cadence.”

That very much sounds to me like "when the evident demand is determined to be sustainable enough to make the investment worth our while." Then again, I'm not a business major - I only play one here at HotAir.

GM already has two battery cell plants in operation and those seem to suit them fine for the time being.

...“We’re going to continue to be guided by the customer. We’re rapidly scaling in cell plants one and two,” Jacobson said during a media briefing. “We have nothing to comment on right now.”

GM’s U.S. EV deliveries increased 40% during the second quarter compared with a year earlier to 21,930 units. Still, EVs made up only 3.2% of its total second-quarter U.S. sales.

It is also quite probable that they have one eye on November and don't want to commit any more resources than necessary to something whose government underpinnings could be shortly kicked out from beneath it.

Harris, like Biden, needs to sweep PA, MI, WI or they lose. It's that simple. And given her declaration that she will ban fracking if elected, or her EV push that is alienating auto workers, well... https://t.co/SKf8y9GXG9

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) July 23, 2024

Trump has his eye on those EV subsidies, both for the automakers and the ones used to entice buyers.

He wins, they go.

The Biden Administration used EV subsidies to harm Tesla in an attempt to make every other EV affordable.

In contrast, President Trump would end EV subsidies on Day One.$TSLA could be the last one standing in the EV race if Donald J. Trump returns to the White House. pic.twitter.com/nTwoaMLzfq

— David Nicholas (@DavidANicholas) July 23, 2024

Ford also seems to be feeling its ICE oats when it comes to shaving EV manufacturing capability to bring more traditional vehicle production online. Big trucks make Ford the bulk of their profits, and, by God, big trucks are what Ford has decided to make.

 Ford Motor will expand production of its large Super Duty trucks to a Canadian plant that was previously set to be converted into an all-electric vehicle hub.

The new plans include investing about $3 billion to expand Super Duty production, including $2.3 billion at Ford’s Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, Ford said Thursday. The remaining investment will be used to increase production at supporting facilities in the U.S. and Canada, the company said.

Ford currently produces Super Duty trucks – the larger siblings of the F-150 full-size pickup used largely by commercial and business customers – at plants in Ohio and Kentucky.

Ford said the Canadian plant, which is expected to come online in 2026, will add capacity of roughly 100,000 units annually.

Think of this as a "good thing," Ford says, as they are theoretically in it to "make money."

...“Super Duty is a vital tool for businesses and people around the world and, even with our Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant running flat out, we can’t meet the demand,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a release. “This move benefits our customers and supercharges our Ford Pro commercial business.”

...The announcement comes weeks after Farley said full electrification of “big, huge, enormous” vehicles such as Ford’s Super Duty trucks was “never going to make money.”

And money is what makes the wheels go round. Trucks make money hand over fist. Ford's EVs bleed cash.

...The Ford+ plan initially focused heavily on EVs when it was announced in May 2021 during the company’s first investor day under Farley, who took over the helm of the automaker in October 2020.

At the time, there was significant optimism around all-electric vehicle adoption and potential profitability that have not materialized as quickly as many had expected.

...While Ford’s EV unit loses billions of dollars, its Ford Pro commercial business including its Super Duty trucks earned $7.2 billion before interest and taxes in 2023.

The Ford+ plan also included a target of 8% earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, profit margin for the EV unit by the end of 2026. Ford withdrew that target earlier this year. It would have been a massive turnaround from a profit margin of roughly negative 40% in 2022.

Ford loses $100,000 per EV sold. Biden is attempting to destroy the US auto industry with his EV mandates. pic.twitter.com/GqA6vZYHIk

— Tony Heller (@TonyClimate) July 19, 2024

Additionally, the completed truck factory in Canada is projected to create at least 1800 new jobs. That's not chicken feed in anyone's book.

It's an ongoing world-wide demand malaise...

They assumed magic batteries would be invented.

— Naughty Nigel 🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇳🇮🇱 (@NaughtyNigel3) July 23, 2024

...for a product that just wasn't ready for primetime.

With a reduced demand for EVs in multiple markets across the world, Audi is changing their plan to instead focus on updating their hybrid portfolio. They join a long list of automotive giants like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Kia and Porsche that have made a shift in strategy due to… pic.twitter.com/8vqhF6YlF5

— Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) July 23, 2024

But a cult that was.

If Trump gets elected - please let it be so, baby Jesus - then the market forces that should have been allowed to work from the beginning of the EV revolution will flow.

Things will shake out rapidly without the largesse of taxpayers.

What a crying, unconscionable shame we've blown so much already.