GM Taking Another $6B in Charges Related to EVs
General Motors Corp. executives on Jan. 8 said the automotive giant will record roughly $6 billion in charges in its fourth-quarter results to account for the major recent changes in the electric-vehicle market. The company also will book another $1.1 billion in charges related to the restructuring of its China joint venture and legal matters.
Word of the latest EV write-down comes two-and-a-half months after Chairman and CEO Mary Barra and her team said GM’s third-quarter results included $1.6 billion in charges due to the Sept. 30 expiration of tax credits for new EVs as well as plans to trim vehicle and battery production capacity that included ending production of the BrightDrop delivery van.
The $6 billion in new charges—which include some $4.2 billion in costs around supplier agreements and contract cancellations, among other things—likely won’t be the last as GM teams adjust to the new world for EVs, which CFO Paul Jacobson in October said will have the company focus for “the next few years” on lowering its costs and looking to improve the performance of its batteries.
“We expect to recognize additional material cash and non-cash charges in 2026 related to continued commercial negotiations with our supply base, which we believe will be significantly less than the EV-related charges incurred in 2025,” executives wrote in their regulatory filing. “In addition, proposed regulatory changes to the greenhouse gas emission standards could result in an impairment of our emissions credits, similar to the previous impairment we recognized related to our CAFE credits. Such charges may adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.”
GM’s upsizing of the financial hit it is taking from EVs’ retrenchment follows the mid-December news from Ford Motor Co. that it would write off about $19.5 billion in EV investments. At the time, CEO Jim Farley said, “the operating reality has changed” around EVs, citing both weak demand and regulatory changes.
Shares of GM (Ticker: GM) fell 2% to about $83.50 in after-hours trading after gaining nearly 4% during the regular session. Over the past six months, they have surged more than 60%, a climb that has grown the company’s market capitalization to about $81 billion.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has been in business journalism since the mid-1990s and writes about public companies, markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications, focusing on IndustryWeek, FleetOwner, Oil & Gas Journal, T&D World and Healthcare Innovation. He also curates the twice-monthly Market Moves Strategy newsletter that showcases Endeavor stories on strategy, leadership and investment and contributes to other Market Moves newsletters.
With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati in 1997, initially covering retail and the courts before shifting to banking, insurance and investing. He later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal before being named editor of the Nashville Post in early 2008. He led a team that helped grow the Post's online traffic more than fivefold before joining Endeavor in September 2021.