“... because there’s lower demand, and in part because they expect less government EV coercion.”
I firmly believe that FedGov has been threatening the auto makers with all sorts of nastiness to force them to build EVs. As you suggest those auto makers are betting that those threats will evaporate next January and the car makers can get back to making products that customers actually want.
“auto makers are betting that those threats will evaporate next January and the car makers can get back to making products that customers actually want”
This reminds of a variation of the old Soviet quote...
They pretend to make cars and we pretend to buy them.
;-)