The costly United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Stellantis (STLA), could complicate the Big Three automakers' already difficult transition to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:electric vehicles (EVs). 

The UAW went on strike against the Big Three automakers on Sept 15. Forty days after the strike started, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Ford reached a tentative deal with the union, allowing the company’s 20,000 workers impacted by the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:stand-up strike to return to work. The strike continued with about 25,000 worke𓃲rs as the union negotiated with GM and Stel൲lantis. 

In its first five weeks alone, Anderson Economic Group estimated Ford, GM, and Stellantis lost more than $4.1 billion combined. The automakers aren’t the only ones losing, with the research firm estimating that broader 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:economic losses may be as high as $9.3 billion in the same period.

The costly strike started as all three automakers were in the early stages of transitioning to EVs. Each company previously had committe꧃d to lower carbon emissions by transitioning to EV production rather than manufacturing traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. 

Ford reported that it expects half of its global vehicle sales volume to be electric by 2030. Similarly, GM said that 40% of its U.S. models would be EVs by the end of 2025. Stellantis says that it is planning for 100% of European sales and 50% of American sales to be electric by the end of 2029.

Facing an Uphill Battle

Despite the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Big Three’s eagerness to break into the EV space, they face an uphill battle with high inventories, profitability concerns, and an already-crowded market.&n𝄹bsp;

The UAW strike could “have a negative impact on EV production growth" in the short and long term, CFRA equity research analyst Garrett Nelson told Investopedia, saying that the firm “thinks that all three of them are currently losing money in EVs.” The companies’ “pure battery EVs aren’t selling as well as they thought [they would],” Nelson said.

While there has been continued upward growth of EV sales in the American market, “higher inventory levels, more product availability, and downward pricing pressure” in the third quarter of 2023 reflect that consumer demand for EVs is not quite equal to automakers’ supply, Cox Automotive reported. 

Both Ford and GM have told investors that their EVs won’t be profitable for years to come, with Ford going as far as to say that the EV side of its business “operates like a startup.”

The strike will likely force the Big Three to slow their EV plans and take a more market-based approach, Nelson said, as 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GM r♔eported in its🎃 third-quarter earnings call. The analyst noted that this deceleration could be good news for investors who were wary about "how aggressive GM” and other Big Three automakers have “been making a bet on the future of EVs." 

Another difficulty that Ford, GM, and Stellantis face in their EV transition is that the market is already dominated by Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA). In the third quarter of 2023, Tesla held an estimated 50% market share, followed by Ford at 6.7% and GM at 6.5%,💜 according to Cox Automotive.

“澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Tesla and foreign automakers [are] the true winners in UAW strike,” Wedbush analysts said at the start of the strike, noting that the costs of the labor dispute would only make the daunting EV transition more difficult for the Big Three.