For all the sturm und drang of reporting on electric car development this year, the market hit a quarterly record in the United States, and overall sales were basically flat year-over-year. Will 2026 be a disaster? I tend to think it won’t be.
At the very least, 2026 will eventually test a theory I espouse often in The Morning Dump, which is that there are EV buyers who are not being well-served by the market and will appear once there are more affordable vehicles. Some of those vehicles are coming, and in an environment with far fewer incentives, which will give us clearer data.
There’s a way to look at Stellantis as its own mad science experiment, and the data isn’t great. The new chief scientist is saying a lot of the right things, although it doesn’t sound like he’s going to change many of the variables just yet. The opposite of Stellantis might be Honda, which is a company with few brands that carefully works its way into new areas, like sport. Honda’s job is sport.
And, to wrap it all up, GM CEO Mary Barra doesn’t think people will plug in their plug-in hybrids.
Better EVs Are Coming
With the cancellation of the IRA tax credit for EVs, the market somewhat artificially expanded in Q3 and then predictably crashed in Q4. Overall? EV sales were down about 2% from 2024, which isn’t that terrible.
A lot of this decline was led by Tesla, which saw a 7% drop year-over-year, although it still makes up almost half of the EV market. GM was probably the biggest winner, growing 48%. The brand also has a range of vehicles, from the affordable Equinox all the way up to the mega expensive Cellestiq.
What will the market look like once the push-and-pull of the tax credit goes away? EV buyers are extremely loyal, so most EV buyers going back into the market are probably going to buy another one.
My contention has been that more affordable EVs will bring more buyers, but the caveat there is that they have to be from the right brands. The Equinox EV is great if people give it a chance. It’s a Chevy, so that’s a non-starter for some people. It’s also still slightly pricey without the tax credit for what you get.
“2025 unfolded largely as anticipated, with changes to federal EV incentives reshaping the demand patterns that drove record Q3 sales,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. “Rather than signaling a retreat from electrification, this shift marks a structural transition toward a market increasingly driven by consumer choice. While 2026 will bring challenges, momentum remains grounded in market maturation: expanding model availability across price points, improving charging reliability, and continued advances in battery performance and cost.”
This year, the market is going to get fewer expensive two-row crossovers and more interesting cars. There’s the return of the Chevy Bolt, which starts below $30,000 without the credit. The new Leaf is a little more expensive, but it’s good. The BMW iX3 is going to slot in lower than BMW’s other popular EV offerings, and do so with 400 miles of range.
While I’m desperate to try the Rivian R3 when it launches, I do think the Rivian R2 might be a nice place for people considering a gas-powered or hybrid two-row crossover. At $45,000ish it seems like a good deal.
While I’m optimistic, that optimism is qualified a bit. I don’t think EVs will increase share or even beat 2025. I see a relatively flat year, which is consistent with the market overall. I do see hybrids taking a greater share, but mostly from ICE vehicles and not EVs.
The market is maturing and getting rid of vehicles that exist merely to have an EV option, like the Acura ZDX, and are being replaced by 2nd or 3rd generation EVs that are probably better for more people.
Stellantis Will Probably Stick Together
I should probably start using a different photo of Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, mostly because MSN always flags it as being “violent.” It amuses me, so I won’t replace it until I find a new one.
Filosa has a tough job, and one of the challenges is that Stellantis has so many brands. All the brands. Should Stellantis kill some brands? It’s a discussion we’ve had, but it sounds like Filosa isn’t there yet, at least according to this interview in Bloomberg from the Detroit Auto Show, which may or may not have happened yesterday.
“We want to stay together,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a good combination.”
The comments are the latest indication that Stellantis’ leaders plan to largely continue the company’s current construction, formed through the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group that created a portfolio of 14 brands.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann similarly downplayed a potential breakup last February, saying the carmaker’s global reach and sale in major markets is a “big strength.”
Filosa is focused on turning sales around in the United States and fixing the mess the last guy made, so perhaps chucking out brands isn’t the best first step. Viva Lancia!
Honda Will Have A Sporty Version Of Most Of Its Cars
The Tokyo Auto Salon last week, and Honda announced that it was introducing a “SportLine” trim and “TrailLine” trim for basically everything. To clarify, “Sport Line” for the cars and “Trail Line” for the crossovers, although it would be great if Honda swapped those (Trail Line Accord?). This is the middle option in terms of performance, seemingly similar to Audi’s S-Line.
Based on Honda Sports DNA, Honda will expand its lineup of more exciting sport-type models, for both on-road and off-road driving. In addition, as the key pillar of its initiative to further enhance its sport-type model lineup, Honda will introduce HRC-spec models for a wider range of production models by leveraging technologies HRC has amassed through racing activities and feedback from its race drivers.
Honda has always been a company that loves motorsports, which is endearing. What’s more interesting to me is the HRC versions, as mentioned in this Automotive News article:
Honda’s upcoming TrailSport HRC offerings are expected to be priced higher than their standard-trim counterparts, spokesman Yuzo Mori said.
The HRC trim builds upon the TrailSport grades already offered in the U.S. on such nameplates as the Passport and CR-V crossovers, as well as the Ridgeline pickup.
TrailSport HRC offerings will incorporate sporty design cues and technologies amassed through Honda’s racing activities to differentiate them from existing TrailSport trims, Honda said.
What would a TrailSport HRC HR-V even do?
I don’t know, but I’m curious.
Mary Barra Doesn’t Think People Plug In Plug-Ins
I feel like David and I are always getting into arguments with our peers over the concept of vehicles with a gas engine and battery pack. Basically, one side thinks that no one plugs them in, and the other side thinks they do, but a lack of data means none of us know for sure.
The reality is probably somewhere in between and is likely highly dependent on the vehicle. Do I think Wrangler 4Xe owners are plugging in regularly? I doubt it. Are people who buy a Mercedes or BMW plug-in charging at home? Probably, yes.
There is some portion of the pro-EV crowd that’s still angry that their rosy projections for EV adoption turned out to be wrong, and this makes them lash out at hybrids, EREVs, and PHEVs. In fairness to them, the data on PHEV usage is hard to come by, and the fact that automakers are not anxious to share isn’t a good sign.
As reported by InsideEVs, GM CEO Mary Barra isn’t that keen on them either:
“What we also know today with plug-in hybrids is that most people don’t plug them in,” she said. “So that’s why we’re trying to be very thoughtful about what we do from a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid perspective.”
That’s kind of a bummer because vehicles like the Equinox Plus that GM sells in China are interesting. [Ed Note: I wouldn’t be surprised if people didn’t plug in their PHEVs (though I’m not convinced they don’t), as America’s PHEVs aren’t good enough. -DT].
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
If you are not a younger Millennial or a GenZer or whatever, you may have missed all of the Geese discourse. What you need to know is that it’s a rock band fronted by a guy named Cameron Winter, who is both handsome and talented, which means the Internet loves him. He’s got a sort of Rufus Wainwright thing to him as well that sounds a little different than what’s out there now. “Au Pays du Cocaine” is a good entry into the world of Geese.
The Big Question
Will people plug-in EREVs, which offer much more electric range than current PHEVs? [Ed Note: And to add to that question: If they don’t like plugging in their EREVs for whatever reason, would these customers have been happy with a BEV that has to be plugged in? -DT]
Top photo: BMW, Rivian, GM, depositphotos.com
““What we also know today with plug-in hybrids is that most people don’t plug them in,” she said.”
That’s a lie.
Based on this study/survey:
https://www.torquenews.com/1083/plug-hybrid-electric-vehicle-owners-plug-them-most-days-heres-how-we-know
… the vast majority of PHEV owners (such as myself) do plug in daily. And if you include those who do it daily and those who plug in “every day or so”, then you’re looking at a solid 80+ percent of owners.
I will not only plug in daily, but on some days (like on weekends), I’ve plugged in 2-3 times in the same day… run some errands in the morning, plug in. After an hour or two (at which point its fully or almost fully charged as I have a 240V charger), run more errands, then plug in again. And then go out in the evening.
So as a result, I can do 80+km of EV-driving on some days on my 32km-of-EPA-rated-EV-range C-Max Energi.
“Will people plug-in EREVs”
The vast majority of them will. Of course it won’t be 100%… but maybe only 80-90%. Just because there is a minority of clueless owners who don’t plug in doesn’t make PHEVs bad.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.
Polling members of Facebook groups for plug-in hybrid owners about whether they plug in is the DEFINITION of selection bias
As if Barra and GM aren’t doing their own selection bias.
Where Barra/GM did THEIR polling data?
Given what she said, it’s like they are getting data from car rental agencies where they often give you EVs and plug-in Hybrids WITHOUT the portable charger.
And the polling results from the Facebook groups I referenced jibes with my first hand observations of other PHEV owners… most DO plug in.
I’m willing to bet that the people driving PHEVs and are not plugging in are NOT the actual owners of the given PHEVs because they are rentals, part of a company car pool (where the person driving doesn’t have to pay for the gas) or something like that.
Barra and GM don’t have to poll anyone to know if and when the cars are plugged in. All that data gets set back to the mothership automatically. Telematics is a big deal at GM.
Your anecdotal evidence is ALSO subject to bias. As someone who plugs in, you’re more likely to know others who plug in. Over the last few years TONS of PHEVs got sold to people who don’t know what a PHEV is, because the subsidy money made the numbers work for them and the PHEV system puts a more attractive MPG number on the window sticker.
“Your anecdotal evidence is ALSO subject to bias.”
I’m not biased… YOU’RE BIASED.
At least in my opinion… which in no way could ever be biased.
No sir!!
The reality is GM doesn’t currently have any PHEVs to sell in the US, nor anything in the pipeline, so she isn’t going to say that PHEVs are good.
As owner of a 2022 iX3 I’m very excited for the new iX3 Neue Klasse.
My wife and I will definitely try it, but the Mercedes GLC EV and the Volvo EX60 are also interesting.
In Denmark the charging infrastructure is great and most EV owners have a 11kw charger at home. Where I work we have around 60 11kw chargers. The majority of new cars are EV and most people (if any) will not be returning to ICE cars again.
My $0.02. You can operate an EV without having access to a charger at home. There’s plenty of cases where it’s feasible, especially if there’s charging provisions at nearby grocery stores. Results may vary in red/purple states.
When it comes to PHEV/EREV, the plug in benefits are mainly for the people who have a readily accessible charger at single family homes/work.
IMO, EV is city commuting, Hybrid is for long distance trips, EREV is for Trucks and SUV’s who need all the capability, none of the drawbacks and are willing to pay the premium.
The biggest reason why PHEV’s are not being plugged in, is because those who leased them got them for a substantial rate cheaper than the pure ICE variants. Without Gov subsidies, real take rate will vary. I expect those people who don’t plug in to continue with either hybrid or ICE.
Yes. Honestly, I wish we had an EV because my wife and I do sooooo many short, around-town trips that are very hard on our gasoline cars’ engines.
For example, my wife’s gym is 0.5 miles down the street. A dark/unlit street in our neighborhood. She goes at 5:00 A.M. three times a week, and has to drive our van. Half a mile, in the freezing cold weather. I don’t want her walking or running there in the dark by herself.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the long-term effects on the van.
If you have a way to charge at home, that’s a perfect use case for a $3k Leaf.
I did find one locally with 32 miles of range on a full charge for $2,500.
“Do I think Wrangler 4Xe owners are plugging in regularly?”. I hope not, since they have been told not to until there is a fix for the recall.
I’ve been plugging in my PHEVs nightly since 2017. And I don’t believe for a minute that most people don’t charge them.
{ throws sticker on page }
S P O R T S M I N D
Hear me out here: give it the Blingee treatment. Remember those sparkly animated MySpace graphics? There’s no way anyone, even an automated graphics bot, will mistake a gif with a neon glitter heart border, stylized “i love emo boys” graphic in the corner, dancing cartoon characters, a couple chrome-effect Jeeps, and a a snowfall of glitter in the background as anything other than a nonviolent photo.
Flush:
IDK! I think a lot of folks might see them as an EV with a fail-safe, but might sway folks who are on the fence or unsure they’ll be able to live with the “must get charged” aspect of them. The former is probably fine with a straight-EV, but the latter wouldn’t. I fully realize that these people are sort of my version of The Baileys because I don’t have the people-research in front of me to back this up, and I’m not sure how many in the latter category exist even if I like the idea of an electric off-roader that won’t get stranded if I run out of charge on a longer trip far away from any chargers. After all, journalists liked PHEVs a lot more than the general public, too.
tl;dr—my bet’s on EREVs having a very similar customer base as a full EV and they’ll remember to plug them in, with a few folks who’ll rely on the range-extender more often sprinkled in between. This vibe-based answer has been pulled straight outta my butt.
I agree with your assessment, mainly because EREVs are going to be expensive AF.
Nobody is going to buy a $70-$90,000 pickup truck by accident like they might with a mid-range hybrid.
I think an EREV truck will be similar to the diesel/transmission/suspension upgrades current truck buyers can select. It’s there if you want or need it, and pay accordingly.
I want an EREV truck, just because I tow a camper long distances, but I love EVs/PHEV’s for my commute. And I would charge it. But with a PHEV and EV at home already and 2 Level 2 stations, I am at EV capacity unless I shuffle around charging nightly or upgrade my electrical service at the garage. And I’m not replacing my 2021 truck anytime soon because it has under 40,000 miles on it and trucks cost too darn much.
Seems like a range extender module the size of a largest ice chest that you could throw in the back of a pick up truck would be a easy thing to make. A small compound turbo miller cycle diesel generator running at full power would be pretty efficient. You could throw it in the back when you are towing farther than a single charge, and if the power matches the average power used at cruising speed the range would be unlimited.
We have two PHEV’s, 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and a 2026 Mercedes GLC 350e. Both get plugged in regularly. The Pacifica daily and the Benz every other day or so since the electric range is 60 miles or so.
Bonus on our van, the warranty for the battery and the transmission have both been extended to unlimited years and unlimited miles! Zero reason for us to get rid of it anytime soon!
How did that happen? I met a guy once that had an older Hemi Ram 1500 on his second engine that had an unlimited mile deal some crazy dealer did for a short period of time that he was extremely proud of… I would be too! But seriously, was it a dealer thing or some sort of add on you did yourself?
I received both extensions in the mail directly from Chrysler (FCA). I never requested them. I think this applies to a lot of the early production Pacifica PHEV’s. Just extended factory warranty.
“, the warranty for the battery and the transmission have both been extended to unlimited years and unlimited miles! Zero reason for us to get rid of it anytime soon!”
REALLY? How did you get a deal like that? If I had a vehicle with a warranty like that, I’d keep driving it until it was rusted. And then I’d take it to a body shop and get them to weld in some new metal and then I’d slap on a coat of tremclad rust paint and call it a day.
I received both extensions in the mail directly from Chrysler (FCA). I never requested them. I think this applies to a lot of the early production Pacifica PHEV’s.
It figures that just as the IRA investments in EV infrastructure have gotten it to a point where I will seriously consider buying one, the Pedophile Protector came in to screw everything up.
I hope Matt’s right about the EV market, but I think it’s almost impossible to make predictions about 2026 right now. There is so much chaos and the outcome of that chaos is going to massively change the world. For better or worse? Who the @#$% knows?
I think we could get a lot of people to plug in PHEV if we just added a small display showing something like $/mile based on fuel/electric cost and the vehicles gas/electric mode ratio.
The answer might even be simpler than that. Its quite possible all they need is a “Don’t forget to plug me in!” goodbye message when they turn it off. Just a quick reminder to change habits around their vehicle.
I wonder what percentage of PHEV’s are rental Pacificas that have never, ever, ever been plugged in.
Or 4xe where they’re afraid of it bursting into flames.
Yep. My wife and her friend rented one to go to Nashville once for a concert and it promptly broke in the Enteprise parking lot. (Tailgate opened and wouldn’t shut.)
I was going to plug it in at our house and the cord had long since been lost per the Enterprise rep.
I’m currently not interested in changing vehicles, but if I were, a used PHEV is something I’d definitely consider. Full EV doesn’t have a good enough ROI for my driving habits to justify the purchase, and I’m too practical to let the other factors sway me.
A PHEV Prius is roughly $5,000 more than a regular Prius. If I am going to shell out thousands more, I am very well going to plug it in. Otherwise, what’s the point? If the Prius was only available as a PHEV, I could see it.
The EREV is harder to answer. Someone may want a new Scout and be perfectly fine just running on dino juice. Since it will only be available as a BEV or EREV, they may buy it with no intention of charging it with liberal electrons.
It really does come down to a vehicle by vehicle use case – broad strokes overlook the details.
Toyota has been offering every flavor on a lot of its cars – gas, hybrid, plug-in. And the payback between the hybrid and plug-in is pretty long (but you get a peppier vehicles to sweeten the deal) and you’ve got to know going in that you are going to be running nearly 100% of the time on battery to justify it. Basically an EV without the range anxiety.
Jeeps and Pacificas, in contrast, only offer you the jump between gas and plug-in on vehicles where the gas version gets really poor MPG. So maybe easier to justify getting the plug-in and forgetting to plug every once in a while.
So GM is talking about hypothetical situations on hypothetical vehicles that it doesn’t want to build. Will this hypothetical plug-in have 40 miles of range or 80? Will this hypothetical plug-in be the only hybridized version on the vehicle, or are they going to make a bunch of different specs?
Maybe they really don’t believe people will plug them in. Maybe they are sick of people asking for a new Volt, or why the fuck they didn’t continue to develop that powertrain. Maybe they are beating around the bush and not answering why they don’t offer the Equinox in a regular hybrid if a plug-in won’t get plugged in. Who knows. But it doesn’t feel genuine.
Zing!
I think Barra might be guessing on bad info. Knowing a PIH costs more, most folks without a good plug-in situation aren’t going to spend extra for a car that, while a hybrid, isn’t as good at hybriding as straight hybrids are.
I don’t know anyone with a PIH that isn’t plugging it in on the regular. Granted I don’t know many people and even fewer of them have PIHs but those of us that do, do.
When looking at GM’s product offerings, one might conclude Barra’s statement is self-serving and meant to convince potential buyers PHEV technology is to be avoided.
What is the point in plugging in something that doesn’t get meaningful electric range?
All you end up doing is short-cycling the gas engine most of the way to work.
Now get me a real honest 100-150km of plug-in range? Add in V2H and I’ll have that thing glued to my charger when I’m home.
My uncle Bought a PHEV Mercedes SUV (the 450e, I think), and he loves it. In the first two months of ownership, he hasn’t even put a tank of fuel through it, because it’s range covers his commute.
It seems like the first half of your statement is arguing with the second half.
The average US commute is shorter than the average PHEV electric range.
*under ideal conditions.
Add in any kind of weather, or errands after work and you’re boned. The 4xe won’t even make it round trip to my work and back, and it’s only a 15 minute drive.
Ideal or typical? How many days a week are you running errands? If you’re in a cold climate, the system definitely takes an efficiency hit, but that’s less than half the time (unless your in Alaska I guess).
I can imagine a 4XE is a less than ideal application of the system, being that w/o the hybrid it’s a 15mpg car. But it’s not really a solution for everyone. I think putting it on a truck is mostly a waste of effort.
-I live in Canada, so we’re dealing with near or below freezing temps half the year.
-I also need to defrost the windows and warm myself.
-I also take an efficiency hit from deep snow winter tires (which I need, we’re actively receiving over a foot of snow as I type this).
-I also take an efficiency hit from, you know, the resistance of driving through snow.
-I also take an efficiency hit since half my commute is on a highway
Add it all up, and what the hell was the point of plugging in?
Now, if I had 100km of range in ideal conditions, my commute is about 40km round trip. I should be fine in all conditions.
I also argue that trucks are THE best use of EREV tech. Specifically because their efficiency makes large packs impractical.
You also take en efficiency hit from all of your factors in relation to the gasoline you use otherwise. Is it really that hard to plug something in?
You are in Canada, Canadians are constantly going on about their cheap, clean, hydro electricity while also complaining about their gas prices. Why wouldn’t you want to use more cheap electrical power and less expensive gasoline?
Actually, never mind, that was all sort of rhetorical. Just keep on truckin’, I guess…
To quote myself:
Which causes lower fuel economy while using gas, hurts engine longevity, and kills emissions equipment while also putting our higher emissions.
So yeah, put some real, usable daily range in it and people will plug it in.
“-I also need to defrost the windows and warm myself.”
HUGE missed opportunity here. Most (all? IDK) PHEVs have a precondition mode that is remotely enabled or scheduled, so if you plug it in and know when you’re leaving, you can come out to a fully warmed and defrosted car with a warm battery that will operate in a higher efficiency mode.
Yes, being in Canada is going to impact your optimal months, but I’m in VT, and it still works out.
Don’t you plug in combustion vehicles for the block heaters?
I stopped at a low-end Motel in Fargo, ND, and being impressed they had electric outlets at every parking spot for EV charging! Then I realized — oh yeah, block heaters…
Outside a diesel, not typically. Most cars don’t come with them factory. My F150 had one, and I used a block heater timer to kick it on an hour before work.
Cause running a 1500W heater all night is a great way to piss money up a tree lol.
“Cause running a 1500W heater all night is a great way to piss money up a tree lol.”
And get frost-bite on your penis while you do it!!! LOL
In practice, I would think most people would put the block heater on a timer.
Surprisingly, most people don’t know they exist.
I’ve spent 20 years in the heavy diesel industry, and the number of companies just letting the meter spin on a fleet of trucks is astonishing.
My wife’s grand parents lived in Bismark ND so I’ve seen many of those hotels/motels with a plug for each parking spot.
How are you boned? You’re in a PHEV, if you run out of electric range you just run on gas for the few miles you still need to go. That’s literally the point of a PHEV – you don’t get stranded because there’s always a gas station nearby if you need it.
Yeah, and the engine doesn’t get up to temp and just short cycles. Which was my original point. I’m glad you finally made it back to where we started.
Condescension is a bad look on you.
Arguing in bad faith doesn’t look any better on you.
The 4xe isn’t a good PHEV. Not all PHEVs are created equal.
My RAV4 is rated for 42 miles EV range and I get pretty much exactly that in the winter and more in ideal conditions. It helps that it has a heat pump, so it very rarely needs the engine for heat. I also tend to use the heated seat if I want to warm myself up faster, rather than cranking the cabin heat up to high.
My Niro would kick the engine on for all heat requests, which did mean winters used a lot more gas.
You’re supporting my argument. Real range = worth plugging in.
I’m all for PHEV/EREV. I just want real electric range.
Your comment about the 4xe sounded like you were treating it as the average PHEV, when it is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. That and the weather concerns were all I was trying to address.
I almost bought an Outlander PHEV late last year purely because I could make it to work and back every day without using gas. But, my commute is 8 miles max.
All you end up doing is short-cycling the gas engine most of the way to work.
Bingo, our Pacifica PHEV has in theory the right amount of range to drive to work (28 miles to work, 35 miles of range in theory) but depending of weather and speed, sometimes the engine will start the last portion of the trip. The engine doesnt even gets warm up properly.
I dont drive it to work because of this, I use it local short errands or road trips.
“What is the point in plugging in something that doesn’t get meaningful electric range?”
All EV range is ‘meaningful’. The more you can run in EV mode, the less fuel you use and the better fuel economy you get.
“All you end up doing is short-cycling the gas engine most of the way to work.”
Actually it’s more like being able to go to work in EV mode. Then on the way home, you’re in hybrid mode. That’s how it is for me.
Also once a week, I visit my GF… and she’s 118km away. When I’m fully charged in the C-max, the first 20-30 km are in EV mode. So it’s like I’m only driving 88-98km of those KM in a mode where the engine is needed some of the time.
And it’s the same deal on the way back as I’m able to plug in at my GF’s place.
What this means in practice is that I get between 1000-2000km on a 45L tank of fuel… and I only have to fill up once or twice a month on average.
It also means that I can go for longer periods between oil changes. According to the maintenance minder on my C-Max, it told me to do my last oil change after having driven 32,000km
And I can go that long because at least half of my driving is in EV mode. So 32,000km for me is like less than 16,000km on a regular car.
One other thing to consider with PHEVs… you don’t want to drive them in such a way that you NEVER run in hybrid mode because you don’t want the gasoline in the tank to get old and gum things up.
I would think it’s a good idea to run them in hybrid mode enough so that you’re putting in a fresh full tank of gas at least every month or two.
I regularly visit family out of town. There’s plenty of opportunity to use the gas engine.
I want to NOT use it for my normal day-to-day operations.
“I want to NOT use it for my normal day-to-day operations.”
If your concern is the engine not getting up to temp, the solution to that is to take it out of EV mode and put it in hybrid or the equivalent of “EV Now’ mode.
So if you have enough range to drive to work on battery power but not enough to make it home, on your way home just change the mode so it forces the engine to kick on early.
“Engine Warming Up Problem” solved.
Sidenote: I’m also in Canada… the Toronto area just big dumping of snow last night and through the day today. I used up most of my C-Max Energi’s EV charge running the defroster and just just getting out of my driveway today (Lots of shoveling, tried getting out, got stuck, more shoveling, some movement, got stuck, more shoveling, finally got out of my own driveway).
But doing that is still way more efficient than it would have been on any of my past cars which were all conventional ICE vehicles with manual transmissions.
Orrrr, they could offer PHEVs/EREVs with real range so I don’t have to do that song & dance. Further reducing emissions.
But you see, we like watching you sing and dance…
We are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TISKDzUy4ac
People will absolutely learn to plug their vehicles in if electricity is the main motivation. Just like with smartphones. Some will forget once in a while. But unlike a phone, needing the car to get places in our zero public transportation country is going to teach people quickly.
Color me intrigued on the R2. One sure would look good in the garage next to our Tesla.
SportLine seems a little redundant for Honda when they already have Sport trims but the others make sense given the market. I’m a little surprised the HR-V hasn’t already added a TrailSport trim to try and line up even more against the Crosstrek but TrailLine makes a bit more sense and that seems to be more what the CR-V TrailSport actually is. Seems like they see what Kia has with the X-Pro/Line setup and want to mimic it. This will also make sense for the Passport which only has the one non-TS trim but will probably benefit even more with another higher trim that keeps the look without as much off the off road hardware.
Yeah. For the civic, there is only a $4000 delta between LX and Sport- is that really enough space for another model? Maybe it is.
There used to be something called an EX, which was basically a base model LX with alloy wheels and air conditioning. My parents had one. Basically an appearance package with a few key features.
Maybe that’s the play here- Some modest silver alloys, and whatever the current ‘gotta have it’ feature you would otherwise find on the Sport. (Bigger infotainment screen?)
I’ve been saying this for a while but the frothing at the mouth anti-EV crowd hasn’t wanted to hear it. The second generation EVs that are debuting this year (or frankly last year as well) are going to be really intriguing because there isn’t really a price delta between them and their ICE counterparts anymore…not to mention range anxiety won’t really be a thing.
The Rivian R2 is supposedly going to cost about the same as a Passport, 4Runner, Bronco, etc. and about the same as a highly spec’d CRV, RAV, and other midsized transport bubbles. It has an NACS port and 300 miles of range as well. I don’t think it’ll just be people that want EVs who are going to give it a try. I do think there will be some customers that were looking at gas powered competitors and wound up with the R2 instead.
Same goes for the iX3. The initial reviews of that car are absolutely glowing and it’s apparently going to range from the high 40s to low 60s depending on spec. It can offer up to 400 miles of range and like the R2 it’ll have an NACS port. That’s the same price as (insert mid sized luxury crossover here) and there are 0 hybrids in that class other than Lexus and the Volvo PHEVs.
Again, I don’t think it’ll only be EV diehards looking at them, especially with how bad and hideous the current X3 is. Say what you will about the iX3 (I love it, don’t @ me) but at least it’s interesting and unique. You could remove the kidney grilles and badge from an X3, tell me it’s a commodity brand, and I’d believe you. Same goes for the Q5, GL whatever, the list is long.
We’re now getting BEVs that are good enough to compete on their own merit, and I think plenty of folks will enticed by that. Or maybe they won’t and EVs have become such a hideous culture war monstrosity that the US is well and truly hopeless on that front. Color me optimistic for once.
I think the limiter to some of these from outselling their ICE counterparts is the lack of infrastructure. How many city/suburban folks in apartments with no charger would love one, but have no where to charge it?
–I am talking about big apartment complexes with hundreds of families and not enough spots for everyone who lives there. Or big ones in a city downtown somewhere where its street park only.
The cars Matt listed all have NACS ports and access to Tesla’s supercharging network. Unless you’re 300+ miles away from an even medium sized city there is infrastructure. Hell you can drive a non NACS EV across the country just fine, Matt Farrah did it. It will absolutely not be as easy as driving a gas car or an EV that has access to superchargers but even that is doable.
If people want the cars they’ll make them work. Back when I lived in big apartment complex in the 20 teens plenty of people had Teslas and made them work because they were status symbols back then.
Here is the conundrum I am in. I am middle aged, have 2 kids in high school involved in almost everything, in-laws that live 260 miles away, at least 2 600 one way road trips per year. I live in a small town (1 stoplight in the entire county) in a Midwestern state. The temps in the winter are routinely 20 degrees for a high. I read the Matt Farah article, it did not convince me that I should want a BEV. Between averaging 70-74 mph, to the charging infrastructure, to the extra time “fueling up”, that trip seemed pretty terrible I stop once on the way to in-laws, no chargers are at that gas station. In the winter I would stop twice. I love driving, but being a car longer than I have to is not fun. Did I mention I work for public school? You can price new cars in the $40k range all you want, I won’t have enough disposable income for at least 5 years.
Also, this coming from someone who is pro EV. I also am anti used EV…..
i guess I will have to drive my gas using SUV until I can’t….
These cars aren’t status symbols. I think you are downplaying the issue. Time will tell tho, and I’m often wrong.
…a Rivian or BMW aren’t status symbols? That’s news to me.
Just catching up today and this thread spurred a thought on this topic – while there are millions of people who live in apartments outside cities, how many of those are also buying cars new? I’m guessing it’s a pretty low number.
I suspect you’re right, since I suspect most new-car buyers of any fuel type also live in single family homes, or at least duplex/townhomes with attached parking. Or, they’re well-off in a big city and live in an apartment but have access to public charging.
Then as those cars trickle down through the used market, there will be more push to get charging in multi-family housing.
Long-distance isn’t really a problem for the better EVs (which.. there’s only a few of, but that’s growing fast) at this point unless you’re driving from Pierre to Fargo regularly. There’s chargers all over the interstates, not that much further apart than gas stops.
Day-to-day driving is still kind of a problem for people in apartments. Yeah, there’s DC fast chargers around town so you can make it work, but you lose both the cost savings and convenience of charging at home so they’re a lot less compelling.
Hopefully apartment complexes will start including L2 chargers.
I think, like you, price parity will alter the conversation. I do not believe it will yet put EV on even ground for many people. I do not know the breakdown of new car buyers by age group, but I imagine many older buyers will remain uninterested in EVs, either by apathy or just disinterest in learning a new ownership process. But the younger the buyer demographic, the closer to a level playing field we are going to see in the next few years.
As an electric car owner, I think Matt’s take on electric sales in 2026 will prove optimistic. The main barrier to entry remains ability to charge at home as it is difficult for them to make sense to anyone who can’t. Do I think there is some large pool of people that live in single family homes and will be enticed by a slightly cheaper car? No I do not, particularly when the used market will be awash in even cheaper used EVs.
NACS ports are starting to become standard kit, and with access to Tesla’s supercharging network I don’t think the “but I could never possibly charge at home!” crowd is going to be as averse to them since the superchargers are almost as common as gas stations in most urban and suburban areas.
While true, Mach Es have the port in the wrong location, so you have to block two spaces to charge at a supercharger. Not sure where all the others have their ports.
Ford gonna Ford
I think this is a much greater impact than you do. I don’t personally know anyone who plans to buy an EV or has bought one who doesn’t have at home access to charging. The concept of fueling up over that much time compared to 5 minutes for Gas, both having to be done at approximately even frequency, is a turn off for many I know.
I think a lot of people are looking for excuses not to buy EVs and that we’re closing in on the point that they won’t be any less convenient to own
I’m still amazed at how slow manufacturers have been to actually switch over to NACS after saying they were going to use NACS almost 3 years ago.
Car development cycles can be pretty long. I think most of them are bundling it in with generational updates or sometimes smaller refreshes instead of adding it on to the current models.
I agree with the first half of your comment. I think that the second one makes sense, but misses a segment of buyer. I personally view a used EV like a used computer. I would never buy a used computer.
I would buy a cheap computer tho to just surf the web, like I would buy a cheap new EV to cruise to the grocery.
I’ve said this before, but I do think there are a lot of people who would like to buy EVs, but are waiting for some aspect of their lifestyle to settle. And it will.
Personally, my wife and I park our vehicles in a public with no access to electricity. Once we finish building our own house, I can’t wait to get a nice used EV for local trips.
At a macro level, there will need to be structural changes to home charging access, especially for renters. It would be complicated, but some application process and support for renters to have a charger wired to their unit’s electrical meter would be a game changer for EV adoption.
The timing aspect here is often understated. Yes people went out and bought EVs because they are a cool new gadget. But for a lot of people it’s a financial decision- what’s my payback on an EV versus a similar ICE vehicle. A lot of those people leased (we did), and many might buy next time. A lot of those people are still in their ICE vehicle because it didn’t make financial sense yet to turn in their newer car for an EV.
My wife didn’t want an EV. She was worried about range. She was worried it would drive differently. She was worried about all the gadgetry. But they are becoming more normalized, more millennials are getting settled in the single family homes we couldn’t afford until 35, and costs are coming down.
Everyone that i know that bought a plug in hybrid, plugs it in. That’s why they bought it.
I suspect more people will plug in EREVs than PHEVs, and I suspect the PHEV number is already skewed by the Jeep offerings being on massive discounts for so long. The people I know with PHEVs (and I am on my second), mostly bought them to commute on electric or at least get some of the commute on electric. Once the battery-gas ratio is higher, it will feel like it saves people more time and money. Especially if they can’t get a full commute on electric with a PHEV, but can on EREV.
I do think it is also location-dependent. I live in an area with super cheap hydro power. Of course people plug in most of the time here; it saves a fair amount of money. If gas is cheap enough and electric expensive enough, it might even be cheaper to run a PHEV as a hybrid, and maybe not inconvenient for folks. EREVs would make it slightly less convenient, but cheaper is going to win for most folks.
As to David’s question, I think that a person who uses an EREV as a gasser just doesn’t want an EV at all (and is probably someone who doesn’t want a hybrid, either). That said, if they had to have an EV for some reason, they’d learn to plug in. It’s not an onerous task. They might not like it (especially if they drive enough daily to need L2 charging at home and don’t have a garage), but they’d manage it, just like people learning when to gas up (I don’t understand people who have to learn it the hard way, but it happens–my mom was telling me about how she learned not to run to empty because she used to drive for a long time after the needle hit bottom…until it actually went dry once).
Would they be happy to move to an EV? No, at least not until they feel like they’d save enough money and/or have enough range (or whatever else they feel is lacking in EVs). Or once they don’t feel like it’s “political.”
There is a very interesting “drive mode” in our Pacifica PHEV that I feel should be adopted more for other vehicles that have both gas + battery propulsions. For some reason if the car is fully charged and you are driving on the highway above 80 mph (I should be able to turn this “mode” on my own but anyway), the engine kicks on and both battery and engine work together to move the vehicle. This way the battery decrease very slow and the instant MPG shows around 36-38mpg.
With a bigger battery like an EREV and this driving mode, I should be able to cover long distances getting very good MPG. The Volt I snatched back allows me to put it on hold or not, and when the battery is depleted and you push the engine, the MPG is not as good for the size of the vehicle.
Interesting! “But, you see ossifer, above 80mph the gas and electric motors share the load, I was just trying to save the planet and my wallet, not speeding!”
FWIW, I plug my PacHy in every night.
That really isn’t a mode to make things efficient, it is a mode to prevent the starter/generator from exceeding critical speed and exploding.
“MSN always flags it as being “violent.”
Ha! It does kind of look like he’s getting ready to throw fists.
I think it’s his Jeep “ballistic vest” cosplay.
Oh, that’s a good call. I think you’re right.
I’m more optimistic trump will finally be removed from office, this time with threatening to take over land from an ally, and going to war over it.
The spineless sacks of brown nosing butt kissing sycophants in Congress will continue to let him do whatever he wants for fear of being primaried. The only way Trump is leaving office is death (natural causes/age related) or end of term.
I like your optimism that he would actually leave at the end of his term.
People will plug in EREVs because the engine is conceptually ~the backup~, and they will be sold as such. People understand what a backup generator is
Yeah. I can see why non-technical people would think their PHEV is simply a ‘better hybrid’ with plug-in charging seen as ‘nice option’. And they would be technically correct.
EREVs are an entirely different animal. They’re going to be expensive vehicles for their class- You won’t accidentally buy one over an ICE without the intent to maximize the technology.
I just assumed I missed it because I’m not Canadian.
You should try being Canadian. It’s pretty great.
“What would a TrailSport HRC HR-V even do?”
Extract more money from customers without much effort.