Because of his extensive background in businesses like hotels, mail-order steaks and private universities, many people assumed that President Trump’s second tenure in the White House would be inherently good for business. Yet many businesses now feel they’re being left holding the bag after Trump’s administration ordered an immediate freeze to America’s federally funded electric vehicle charger rollout last week. They’re hoping the powers that be will reconsider.
That kicks off today’s edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of technology and automotive industry news. Also on today’s docket: Nissan searches for a new partner, and several European automakers warn their investors of a tough environment for 2025. Let’s dig in.
30%: Trump’s NEVI Funding Freeze Hits A Lot Of Existing Investments
It’s no secret that the rollout of the NEVI-funded network of DC fast chargers, approved by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, hasn’t exactly blitzed the country with plugs on every corner. Even as America’s charging network grew at a rapid pace in 2024, the NEVI-funded ones in particular had a penchant for taking a while because they relied on many things—a complex process of grants to the states, work with utility companies and local permitting processes that can vary wildly from place to place. (For more on how that happened, I’ll turn you to Suvrat Kothari’s excellent story on the subject from last summer.)
Yet the NEVI program was working, slowly but surely, and it was an integral part of the charger rollout for many companies. Now that Trump has ordered a freeze on the program, many different groups are urging him to reconsider.
Those include automakers, reports Reuters:
A group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies on Friday urged the U.S. Transportation Department to quickly restart a $5 billion government EV infrastructure program.
The Electric Drive Transportation Association, whose members include General Motors, Toyota, BorgWarner, EVGo, Stellantis, Walmart and others, said it urged the Trump administration “to quickly resume the critical work of the program and minimize uncertainty for states and their businesses, who have invested in infrastructure to serve local and national goals for advanced transportation.”
And it includes fuel retailers and gas station owners. Yes, really. That’s because many of them have invested heavily into adding EV chargers at existing fuel stops across America. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense: so many of them are already situated in ideal locations to aid travel, and drivers are already accustomed to stopping there, so why not? Many of them are in the middle of big investments to add those chargers, and they don’t want to see the plug get pulled (pun very intentional) at such a critical time.
Here’s trucking news website The Trucker with more:
NATSO and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, are responding to the Federal Highway Administration’s announcement that it will suspend approval of state electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plans under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) grant program.
“The NEVI program has in many states helped catalyze existing gas stations and truck stops to install fast, state-of-the-art EV charging stations,” said David Fialkov, executive vice president of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. In other states, NEVI has been implemented poorly, with chargers either still not built or, if they are, they’re in places nobody wants to stop.”
Fialkov noted that it is encouraging that Trump Administration is reevaluating rather than abandoning the NEVI Program. “(We) intend to work closely with the Administration to share our experience and keep what’s been working, while reconsidering clearly unproductive approaches.”
According to news reports, at least one state has already halted any further disbursement of NEVI grants. Detroit’s WXYZ TV news reports that Michigan is pausing second-round submissions of the NEVI program and working with the federal government to determine what this means for “contracts in various stages of agreement” and construction already in progress.
EV owners in the Wolverine State told reporters they’re unhappy with the move, as—and this will come as a surprise to no one reading this website—they want to see more chargers pretty much everywhere. Experts say this back-and-forth EV policy inconsistency throws the auto industry into a tizzy at a time when it’s trying to make the cars of the future.
The NEVI freeze fits the Trump administration’s pattern of unilaterally halting funding previously allocated by Congress, a move many legal experts and constitutional scholars say is against the law. Federal judges have blocked many of these decisions so far.
So I’m wondering who fires the first legal salvo in this fight. Car companies? Charging companies? Electric utilities? Gas station owners? Tesla, which received $31 million to build out more of its chargers? If you know what’s coming, get in touch via the information listed above or my email down below.
60%: Nissan, Fresh Off Its Breakup With Honda, Is Getting Back Out There
Photo by: Nissan
The planned Honda-Nissan merger seems to be off the table. But that doesn’t solve any of Nissan’s problems—dwindling finances, an aging product lineup, declining sales and a warning from executives that it maybe has 12 to 14 months of runway left before potential bankruptcy talks. (And that was almost three months ago, by the way.)
Nissan’s previously announced technical partnership with Honda, which predates merger talk, is expected to continue. And Nissan may be looking at other merger partners now; reportedly, Taiwanese tech giant (and iPhone manufacturer) Foxconn is back in play, too. I also wouldn’t rule out some kind of involvement from a mainland Chinese automaker looking to gain a bigger foothold in other markets.
For now, Automotive News reports Nissan is in self-rescue mode:
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida on Feb. 13 is expected to discuss quarterly earnings and update his restructuring plan in a bid to stoke confidence in Nissan’s future. Nissan will focus first on its strategy for eliminating billions of dollars in fixed and variable costs through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, according to people familiar with the plan.
The initial phase aims to stabilize free cash flow, allaying market concerns about cash burn.
As the Honda tie-up crumbles, Nissan must now show that Uchida’s plan has legs of its own. “The top priority for Nissan right now is the turnaround plan,” said one of the people. “It should be convincing and quick. We cannot wait anymore.”
That story is interesting because it features several sources, presumably within Nissan, who are pushing back on this “verge of collapse” narrative now. They say that no one at Nissan liked the idea of being this junior-partner subsidiary to Honda, and that they have time to correct what went wrong. “We’re confident about coming out of this financial crisis,” one source said. “We’ve done it before.”
We’ll see. But any partner will face a very difficult capital and regulatory environment that’s different from just a few years ago, plus newly added chaos with U.S. tariffs being part of the new administration’s plans.
90%: Europe’s Automakers Warn Of A Tough Year Ahead
Tariffs, still-high interest rates, a slowdown on EV incentives and charger funding and all the other headaches they had in 2024 to boot: it’s going to be a tough year for Europe’s automakers. And they all give the same reasons why that’s the case.
Porsche’s shares slid Friday after the automaker warned investors that profits will slow as it reinvests in internal combustion power, but also must invest in future hybrids and EVs too, the Wall Street Journal reports:
In a statement late Thursday, it said it would take an 800 million euro ($830.8 million) hit on operating profit this year as it invests in new models with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids, which will send costs higher and weigh on its margin.
Like many western carmakers, Porsche also struggled with challenging conditions in China where intense competition has pushed prices lower, while economic pressures have seen buyers in the country pare back on luxury spending.
Costs related to the expansion of customization capabilities, battery development and its corporate organization will also rise this year, it said. The company recently disclosed it is in talks to terminate the contracts of its finance chief and sales director.
Volvo said the same thing, warning of “hyper-competition” and an uncertain road ahead in terms of demand for electrified cars—plus the costs needed to make them. And while BMW has some very ambitious EV plans ahead too, it also needs to stay the course on conventional engines and hybrids, the Financial Times reports:
Board member Jochen Goller said the group remained optimistic about sales of petrol and plug-in hybrids in the US even if demand for EVs slowed over the next few years on the back of policy changes under the new administration.
“I think it would be naive to believe that the move towards electrification is a one-way road. It will be a rollercoaster ride,” Goller, who is in charge of customer, brands and sales, told the Financial Times at BMW’s headquarters in Munich.
“This is why we are investing in our combustion engines,” he said. “We are investing in modern plug-in hybrids. And we will continue rolling out electric cars.”
This also speaks to why automakers want what they call regulatory certainty: what kinds of cars must they make, at what rate, and what support will they get to actually sell the electrified vehicles of tomorrow? And in the U.S. in particular, all of that has now been thrown into a tizzy.
100%: How Can The U.S. EV Charger Rollout Be Better?
Photo by: Electrify America
Maybe the NEVI program has its issues. But nearly everyone in the transportation space will tell you that not investing here, or leaving it all purely up to market demand, will put the U.S. behind rivals like China. Is there a better way to roll this out than what’s been done so far? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Contact the author: [email protected]
