Tech and Hybrid News

Recommended Listening: “Heartaches by the Numbers” by Willie Nelson

Tech 💔 Auto?

Tech and Auto have been going pretty steady for a while now, but now the question is, "Does anybody know they are in a fling while they are still IN a fling?"

This week, some big joint ventures started to call it quits, and The Verge pointed out how close we are to Valentine's Day. Time to commit or quit, we guess.

• Aptiv is pulling funding from its robotaxi JV with Hyundai, Motional, saying it has incurred millions in losses since the project began in 2020 with no launch to show for it.
• Volvo handed its financial partnership with Polestar to its Chinese parent company, Greely, which is less like a breakup and more like leaving your cat at your parent's house when you go to college.
• GM isn't ready to give up on Cruise, but it is pulling about $1B in funding from the robotaxi group for now. "I think you need to know who YOU are before you can meaningfully contribute to who WE are... please stop crashing into stuff."

⚖️ At the time of writing, Hyundai Motor Co | US was unchanged in the market.

📈 Hybrids by the Numbers

Electric vehicles accounted for 16.3% of total US light-duty sales in 2023, which was a substantial jump from 2022. Those numbers include hybrids, which, at nearly 8%, outsold EVs (~7%) and plug-in hybrids (~2%) as more size classes were introduced across brands. While last year's EV excitement started to lose steam, automakers made plans to catch the hybrid train in motion.

• Ford: In 2024, Ford's sales are rising, driven by a 43% surge in hybrid sales, despite a decline in all-electric vehicles and a 12% drop in F-Series pickups.
• Toyota: For Toyota (who was apparently onto something all along), hybrids make up a third of its sales. They are in a position to benefit from the shift towards hybrids over EVs.
• GM: GM revised its strategy to include plug-in hybrids, facing delays in EV programs while remaining committed to a zero-emissions future by 2035.

At the time of writing:
📉 Ford Motor Co | US is down 0.08%
📈 Toyota Motor Corp | US is up 0.46%
📉 General Motors Co | US is down 0.15%

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Ultimately, if any one option was perfect, we would only have one option, with one price, sold to one kind of customer. But that isn't how any of this works.

People want what they want, what meets their needs, and what makes them feel like the second biggest purchase in their life will reliably serve their family for the long haul.

Well, that and a dope sound system. Can't forget that.

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