General Motors (GM) this week announced a pause of production of two of its electric SUVs, the Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq, during the month of December. The two EVs are assembled at GM’s plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The news was confirmed in an internal memo that GM sent to its employees, which was seen by the Reuters group.
A source familiar with the matter told Automotive News that the Spring Hill plant will also be shut down during the weeks of October 6 and November 24.
The facility also handles production of the gasoline-powered XT5 and XT6 SUVs, but production is ending for the latter, which is not returning next year.
Behind GM’s move is the elimination by the U.S. administration of the $7,500 rebate for the purchase of an electric vehicle; that incentive will be gone after September 30.
GM certainly isn’t alone in revising its plans - other carmakers have scaled back their ambitions knowing that the current political context is not in favour electrification in the U.S..
Unsurprisingly, we also learned that GM plans to reduce electric vehicle production during the first five months of 2026 by temporarily eliminating one of two work shifts at the Spring Hill plant. This will affect 700 employees, nearly half of the 1,500-strong workforce.
GM further plans to delay the start of a second shift at its plant near Kansas City, Missouri, for the production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which is scheduled to launch this year.
For the record, here’s the company’s official comment it provided to Reuters regarding what it calls its production adjustments:
“General Motors is making strategic production adjustments in alignment with expected slower EV industry growth and customer demand by leveraging our flexible ICE (internal combustion engine) and EV manufacturing footprint.”
Ironically, the move comes after GM broke a record in August with the number of EVs delivered, totaling more than 21,000.
GM expects strong demand in September, but as one can guess, it will slow down afterward with the removal of the incentives.