General Motors is scaling back near-term electric-vehicle output, temporarily pausing production of two Cadillac EVs in December and trimming factory shifts into early 2026, according to internal communications reported Thursday. The move follows a summer sales surge ahead of the federal EV tax credit’s scheduled sunset and reflects GM’s expectation that the U.S. EV market will grow more slowly over the next several months.
What’s Changing at the Plants
GM will halt production of the Cadillac Lyriq and the larger, three-row Cadillac Vistiq at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, assembly plant for December. After that pause, Spring Hill will run at a reduced pace, moving from two shifts to one for roughly the first five months of 2026. Separately, GM is delaying the launch of a second shift at a Kansas City–area plant tied to the revived Chevrolet Bolt, a hedge against building more EVs than the market will absorb right away.
Why Now
Two forces are at work. First, U.S. shoppers rushed to buy EVs and plug-in hybrids this summer ahead of the expected end of the long-standing $7,500 federal EV tax credit on September 30, pulling demand forward. Second, with incentives set to change and price competition intensifying, GM is choosing to meter output rather than risk bloated inventories.
Internally, the company has framed the shift as aligning production with a “smaller EV market for a while” until conditions normalize.
What It Means
In the short term, shoppers will see tighter availability on Cadillac’s electric SUVs as Spring Hill idles for December and runs lighter into 2026. For GM, the recalibration buys time to match supply to actual take-rates, protect pricing, and keep plant utilization flexible while it ramps profitable trucks and SUVs. It also signals that—even with record EV months in the rearview—the transition pace is set by economics and policy as much as technology.
GM is not alone in taking a more conservative stance for late 2025 into early 2026; other automakers have announced production and staffing adjustments amid shifting incentives and customer demand. But GM’s decision is particularly notable because Lyriq has been one of the brand’s EV bright spots, and the new Vistiq is central to Cadillac’s electric roadmap. Expect the company to continue relying on promotions, trims, and option mixes to maintain momentum while it monitors how post-credit demand settles.