America’s High EV Costs Are Driving Buyers to Hybrids

mikeavelli

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Really good read if you got 5 minutes

Environmental groups have assailed Toyota for sticking with hybrid technology that still relies on pollution-emitting fossil fuel, but former Chairman Akio Toyoda insists many buyers aren’t ready to fully embrace EVs. So Toyota is doubling down on its hybrid offerings, even as it boosts spending on EVs to $50 billion and plans to roll out 10 fully electric models by 2026. “Toyota is a department store of all sorts of powertrains,” Toyoda told reporters at a dealer meeting in Las Vegas last year. “It’s not right for the department store to say, ‘This is the product you should buy.’”

Toyota on the ball

GlobalData expects Toyota’s hybrid sales to rise 7.5% this year, to more than 600,000. About one-third of Toyota’s sales in the US are hybrids, and some models are only available as gas-electrics, including the Sienna minivan and Sequoia full-size SUV.


The Sienna has a waiting list of at least eight months, and Toyota would sell more hybrids as a percentage of its total—especially plug-in models—if it had more powertrains available, says Jack Hollis, Toyota’s US sales chief. “If you look at plug-in hybrids, it’s really growing fast,” he says. “We could easily double our plug-in hybrid” sales.


This is a wild quote as Acura doesn’t have a single hybrid

Hybrids account for almost one-fifth of Honda’s sales in the US. “Hybrids are really contributing to the sales success we’re seeing—both on the Honda and Acura side of the business,” says Mamadou Diallo, Honda’s US sales chief. “The kind of volume we’re doing with hybrids really sets the tone for our future EVs.”

Ford Maverick doing very well

Ford has struggled to keep up with demand for the hybrid version of its small Maverick pickup, which starts at $23,400. The Maverick hybrid accounts for nearly 60% of the model’s sales; CEO Farley said that “was far beyond our expectations.”

That’s why Ford sought to erase the price premium on the 2024 F-150 hybrid, which it unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show on Sept. 12 with new styling and features. Ford now expects the hybrid F-150 to account for one-fifth of the sales of the truck, the bestselling vehicle on the US market for the past four decades. That’s double the current hybrid take rate, and as production picks up, the company will offer the hybrid F-150 with a starting price of $55,000—the same as an equivalent gas-fueled model.
 

Sulu

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My wife has a Prius Prime PHEV on order (for over a year now). With her short daily commutes, she could do fine with an EV but with poor recharging options here in Southern Ontario, she prefers a plug-in hybrid for weekends when she may be driving further from home.

I am waiting for a Camry Prime or an ESh+ for the same reasons. My car is the main family car and we do not want to risk being stranded when away from home (where I intend on installing a home charger).
 
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Really good read if you got 5 minutes

Environmental groups have assailed Toyota for sticking with hybrid technology that still relies on pollution-emitting fossil fuel, but former Chairman Akio Toyoda insists many buyers aren’t ready to fully embrace EVs. So Toyota is doubling down on its hybrid offerings, even as it boosts spending on EVs to $50 billion and plans to roll out 10 fully electric models by 2026. “Toyota is a department store of all sorts of powertrains,” Toyoda told reporters at a dealer meeting in Las Vegas last year. “It’s not right for the department store to say, ‘This is the product you should buy.’”

Toyota on the ball

GlobalData expects Toyota’s hybrid sales to rise 7.5% this year, to more than 600,000. About one-third of Toyota’s sales in the US are hybrids, and some models are only available as gas-electrics, including the Sienna minivan and Sequoia full-size SUV.


The Sienna has a waiting list of at least eight months, and Toyota would sell more hybrids as a percentage of its total—especially plug-in models—if it had more powertrains available, says Jack Hollis, Toyota’s US sales chief. “If you look at plug-in hybrids, it’s really growing fast,” he says. “We could easily double our plug-in hybrid” sales.


This is a wild quote as Acura doesn’t have a single hybrid

Hybrids account for almost one-fifth of Honda’s sales in the US. “Hybrids are really contributing to the sales success we’re seeing—both on the Honda and Acura side of the business,” says Mamadou Diallo, Honda’s US sales chief. “The kind of volume we’re doing with hybrids really sets the tone for our future EVs.”

Ford Maverick doing very well

Ford has struggled to keep up with demand for the hybrid version of its small Maverick pickup, which starts at $23,400. The Maverick hybrid accounts for nearly 60% of the model’s sales; CEO Farley said that “was far beyond our expectations.”

That’s why Ford sought to erase the price premium on the 2024 F-150 hybrid, which it unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show on Sept. 12 with new styling and features. Ford now expects the hybrid F-150 to account for one-fifth of the sales of the truck, the bestselling vehicle on the US market for the past four decades. That’s double the current hybrid take rate, and as production picks up, the company will offer the hybrid F-150 with a starting price of $55,000—the same as an equivalent gas-fueled model.
Pragmatism. I love it.
 

CRSKTN

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This is a wild quote as Acura doesn’t have a single hybrid

Hybrids account for almost one-fifth of Honda’s sales in the US. “Hybrids are really contributing to the sales success we’re seeing—both on the Honda and Acura side of the business,” says Mamadou Diallo, Honda’s US sales chief. “The kind of volume we’re doing with hybrids really sets the tone for our future EVs.”

The NSX?
 

CRSKTN

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Without favorable policies that suppress the desirability of HEVs and PHEVs, BEVs stand no chance.

Don't underestimate consumers' ability to get confused easily as being a reason hybrids haven't seen more uptake initially.

Lexus had to do a bunch of work around how to communicate what their hybrids even are, and the difference between PHEV and their standard hybrids.

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Policy has been huge for motivating BEVs, but let's not pretend policy hasn't been around ZEV (zero-emissione vehicles). They are trying to include more than BEVs.


A pure battery, it's-like-your-phone, BEV is a simpler concept for a lot of people.
 

Och

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Lol, the EQS sounds either like a disease, or that ugly poser Hyundai was trying to sell as a competitor to real flagships.

I have a feeling auto manufacturers make their EVs ugly and terrible on purpose to make them fail - this way they can hopefully go back to concentrating on normal ICE cars.
 

ES300h

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I have a feeling auto manufacturers make their EVs ugly and terrible on purpose to make them fail - this way they can hopefully go back to concentrating on normal ICE cars.
Politicians won't let that happen. Emissions rules will dictate the market, instead of the consumer.
 

Trexus

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Lol, the EQS sounds either like a disease, or that ugly poser Hyundai was trying to sell as a competitor to real flagships.

I have a feeling auto manufacturers make their EVs ugly and terrible on purpose to make them fail - this way they can hopefully go back to concentrating on normal ICE cars.
ICE will make a comeback and it'll be a renaissance.
 

ssun30

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A Lexus dealer in my area has more RZs in their inventory than all other products combined...