What Does the Orion Assembly Pivot Mean for General Motors' EV Plans?

General Motors Company’s GM product portfolio and manufacturing strategy have been shaped by steadily tightening fuel economy and emissions standards over the past several years. In anticipation of a rapid shift toward electric vehicles, the company invested heavily in expanding EV capacity across its plants and supply chain.

However, the landscape has shifted. With regulatory frameworks evolving and federal consumer incentives coming to an end, GM expects near-term EV adoption to fall short of earlier expectations. This change has led to underutilized EV capacity and higher variable costs, which prompted the automaker to reassess several major initiatives.

One of the most significant outcomes of this reassessment is GM’s decision to transition the Orion Assembly plant from EV production back to internal combustion engine vehicles. The company has also agreed to sell its joint venture-owned battery cell plant in Michigan to LG Energy Solution. These moves contributed to a $1.6 billion special charge recorded in the third quarter, with $1.2 billion tied to noncash impairments. Most of these impairments stem from the Orion transition, reduced battery module assembly capacity, the discontinuation of next-generation hydrogen fuel cell development and the write-off of CAFE credits and related liabilities.

Another major shift involves GM’s BrightDrop initiative, the company’s electric delivery and logistics subsidiary. GM has decided to halt BrightDrop production at CAMI Assembly while it evaluates the facility for future opportunities. Combined with regulatory changes and reduced fleet incentives, the business environment for BrightDrop has become increasingly difficult.

GM expects to record an additional charge in the fourth quarter related to BrightDrop actions. Still, the automaker believes these swift and decisive adjustments will meaningfully reduce EV-related losses by 2026 and strengthen the company’s long-term positioning as the market stabilizes. F flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

GM’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

General Motors has outperformed the Zacks Automotive-Domestic industry and its peers, Ford Motor Company F and Tesla, Inc. TSLA, year to date. GM’s shares have gained 42.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 16.2%. Shares of Ford have risen 31.6%, while shares of Tesla have gained 12.7% in the same period. 

 
From a valuation perspective, GM appears undervalued compared to the industry. Going by its price/sales ratio, the company is trading at a forward sales multiple of 0.39, lower than the industry’s 3.42. Ford is trading at a forward P/S ratio of 0.32, while Tesla is trading at 14.29.

 
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GM’s 2025 and 2026 EPS has moved up 12 cents and 31 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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