Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe never thought he would see the United States turn back to gas-powered vehicle expansion. Then it did.
Combustion engines are once again on the rise. Recently, General Motors announced a $4 billion investment in American gas-powered vehicle production. Meanwhile, the US government moved to end many of its green energy and electric vehicle expansion programs and incentives, like the EV tax credit.
Speaking on the “InsideEVs” podcast, Scaringe said that the shift has perplexed him — and that it may give companies like Rivian one small advantage.
Scaringe said he saw a “reprioritization of capital towards internal combustion,” one that was “very bad for my kids and their kids, and very bad for the US auto industry.”
“Things I never thought would happen a year ago are happening now,” Scaringe said, describing new engine programs and plants being announced.
For years, the internal combustion engine (ICE) seemed to be on the downswing. In 2021, automakers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo pledged to work toward phasing out new ICE vehicles.
Then EV sales growth slowed down. In 2024, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse called on the European Union to ease its plan to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035, saying it would hit the European automotive industry “in its heart.”
President Donald Trump has championed combustion engines, revoking the EV tax credit and signing a resolution to block California’s planned combustion engine phase-out.
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The shifting tides have surprised Scaringe: “It blows my mind this happening,” he said on the podcast. “But nonetheless, it is.”
Thanks to the investments in combustion engines — and stripping of EV subsidies — Scaringe expects the EV industry will centralize.
“You’re going to have a sort of a vacuum of competition,” he said. “The pure-play EV-focused companies Rivian, Tesla, there’s not very many, because they’re completely and fully focused on electrification, will have the advantage of a pretty thin competitive playing field.”
While diminished competition could mean more market share for established EV makers like Rivian and Tesla, Scaringe didn’t think it was healthy for the EV industry.
EV sales are still on the rise — especially in China, where companies like BYD have taken the lead. But their growth in the US has slowed, something Scaringe blames on a lack of choice.
“There’s been so little choice of highly compelling products that we’ve seen adoption stop growing at around 8% new vehicle sales,” Scaringe said. “Ideally, there’s 3 or 4, 5 or 6 or 10 other great choices in order to draw in the other 92% of buyers who aren’t buying electric today.”
