The EV rethink now spans oceans

• And the pace of EV transition sways future oil demand, auto companies' bottom lines, minerals markets and plenty in between.

Driving the news: EU officials on Tuesday are slated to propose backing off plans to phase out sales of new internal combustion cars by 2035, following pressure from European auto giants and multiple nations' leaders.

• A revised plan would allow plug-in hybrids and EVs with "fuel-powered range extenders," Bloomberg reports.
• If EU governments and lawmakers approve the change, it'll be the bloc's "most significant climb-down from its green policies of the past five years," per Reuters.

Catch up quick: And in the U.S., Ford on Monday unveiled a scaled-back EV strategy.

• The auto giant is dropping the all-electric version of the F-150 Lighting pickup, and putting more of its money into hybrid trucks.
• But Ford is sticking to its plan to build a new line of affordable EVs, starting with a mid-sized electric pickup due in 2027.

Follow the money: The pivot will come with almost $20 billion in charges to be taken now through 2027, more than $5 billion of that in cash the next two years.

The big picture: Ford called it a response to customers who want more affordable vehicles and don't want to sacrifice performance and utility with battery-powered EVs.

• It also comes amid a sweeping rollback of clean vehicle regulations under the Trump administration, and the GOP budget law's termination of consumer purchase subsidies.

What they're saying: One auto analyst sees connective tissue between the moves in Europe on Tuesday and Ford on Monday.

• "Everyone's coming to grips with the new realities, " Michael Dunne, CEO at Dunne Insights, tells Axios.

• "Europe and the U.S. realize they are not ready to compete with the Chinese on EVs, batteries, and battery supply chains," he said.

"The more they looked at things, they said we have no chance against the Chinese, so let's focus on our home markets, and be profitable selling products that are acceptable to our customers," Dunne adds.

• "In the meantime, we'll try to gradually catch up to the Chinese. But we're not going to do it with one swing of the bat."

The intrigue: Nearly any energy story these days touches AI and data centers, and Ford's pivot fits the mold.

• It's starting a new business to sell battery storage systems to utilities and data centers for backup power, something GM also recently announced.

What we're watching: Evolving projections of the vehicle mix as policies shift.

• The International Energy Agency last month estimated that under nations' existing and planned policies, EVs (including plug-in hybrids) would top 50% of global sales by 2035.

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