EV Sales Are Growing But Hybrid Sales Are Exploding

I remember seeing the first generation Prius in college and being impressed by the strange little gas sipper. Then, somewhere along the way, the appliance-like dustbuster second-gen car appeared and it felt like I was supposed to dislike it. In retrospect, that car was cool and I was the dork. I don’t think anyone views hybrids that way anymore, and it’s kind of amazing.

Obviously, I will keep beating the hybrids-are-good drum like Samantha Maloney, but it’s still amazing to me that there’s been such a turnaround. On the other end of the spectrum is Tesla, which seems to be getting a lift from China’s government to try to get more data out of the country. It might need that data because it’s facing a lawsuit over its full self-driving system.

Finally, we should find out today if the UAW is able to secure a win in Alabama for its unionization drive at the Mercedes plant there.

Happy Friday! I’m driving. a Mazda CX-70 today so I’m going to blast this out and go driving.

Hybrid Sales Are Like Whoa

Did hybrids get better or did all other cars get worse? I think the answer is: Yes. When the first round of hybrids came out there was such a focus on being miserly on fuel you ended up with some fairly hair-shirt cars like the Prius C. They were great for the environment, but not great to drive.

Somewhere along the way, thanks largely to CVT transmissions, most regular cars got significantly worse to drive as they got more efficient. As this was happening, hybrids got way better to drive. It’s my belief that the best car an average person can buy is a car/hatch/crossover with an eCVT, which offers the benefits of a CVT and a hybrid is better to drive than the average car. If someone has the ability to charge, then a PHEV or a range-extended hybrid is best.

Do people agree? People seem to agree. Here are some stats via S&P/Automotive News:

Combined, registrations of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 48 percent to 412,926 in the first quarter of this year compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to S&P Global Mobility. Meanwhile, electric vehicle registrations grew 5.2 percent to 264,268.

Here’s more supporting evidence that Hybrids Are The Way:

Toyota’s approach is even paying off in environmentally friendly California, where it received criticism for offering only two fully electric vehicles.

In the first quarter, hybrid registrations from all automakers rose 53 percent from a year earlier, according to the California New Car Dealers Association, versus a 2.8 percent gain for battery-electric vehicles. Registrations for plug-in hybrids rose 9 percent. Market share for full EVs was little changed at 20.9 percent while hybrids and plug-in hybrids, combined, gained 4.6 points of share to 16.6 percent, the dealer association said.

Toyota is taking advantage of this shift to Tesla’s detriment. Largely thanks to its hybrid lineup, Toyota registrations rose about 9 percent while Tesla registrations fell nearly 8 percent. Toyota’s share rose to 16.4 percent, while Tesla edged lower to 11.6 percent in the nation’s top auto market.

That’s a big, big, big, big deal. California became Tesla-land and still feels that way, but it’s going backward.

Tesla Gets A Big Boost From Shanghai Data

Hey, Tesla, alright. It’s so rare I get to talk about Tesla…

Yesterday, The Morning Dump was all about how your car creates data and maybe you’d like to be able to trust where it goes. Specifically, we learned that the United States government doesn’t trust the Chinese government when it comes to exporting data.

Do you know who seems willing to let its data go? China. Specifically, Tesla has been lobbying China to allow it to export all of that sweet, sweet driving data so it can use its growing self-driving algorithm to improve Full-Self Driving.

Per Reuters:

The government of Shanghai, China’s market and business capital, has compiled a first batch of “ordinary data” in three sectors – intelligent and connected vehicles, mutual funds and biomedicine. These require the least regulation for data transfers, the government document says.

Under a one-year pilot project, companies registered in the city’s free-trade Lingang Area, where Tesla’s Shanghai factory is located, may transfer data on the list overseas without needing further security assessments, according to the document，which was shared with companies attending an event announcing the white list in Shanghai.

Tesla needs China and China needs Tesla, which is a big employer and an exporter. Also, when Tesla exports cars from China it’s an American brand, which helps work as a sort of trade beard for the country.

Tesla Is Going To Have To Face FSD Lawsuit

Tesla wants all that data because its “Full Self Driving” system is extremely not full self-driving, though it’s an impressive piece of technology if used correctly (which few people do!). The more data, in theory, the better it performs.

Legally, Tesla has great lawyers and has had a history of winning cases related to its wannabe autonomous driving system, but now it’s facing a real challenge.

Here’s the skinny from Bloomberg:

California resident Thomas LoSavio, who filed the complaint, says he bought a new Tesla in 2017 and paid an extra $8,000 for FSD. He alleged that statements by Tesla and Musk led him to believe that his car would have self-driving technology within a “reasonably short period.” But by 2022, Tesla hadn’t produced “anything even remotely approaching a fully self-driving car,” according to his complaint.

LoSavio brought the complaint on behalf of anyone who bought or leased a new Tesla vehicle with Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot or FSD since 2016.

Without ruling on the merits of his claims, the judge said LoSavio sufficiently alleged certain 2016 statements were misleading, such as all “Tesla vehicles produced in our factory now have full self-driving hardware,” and that the cars would be able to drive themselves cross country “by the end of next year without the need for a single touch.”

CEO Elon Musk is, more than anything, a great salesman. We’ll have to see if his grandiose statements come back to haunt him in this case as, I’m sure, many people would like their $8k back.

Will The UAW Prevail In Alabama Today?

A few years ago I’d have told you that the chance that a United Auto Workers union drive would be successful in Alabama was slim-to-none. Now, after succeeding in Tennessee, the UAW will find out if its string of wins is enough to persuade workers in the South if they should join the union.

The voting is about to end and we’ll know what happens later today. Here’s a key bit from Al.com:

Wafa Orman, associate dean at the University of Alabama at Huntsville’s College of Business, pointed out that one strategy in Alabama over the years has been for employers to shut down already-unionized or potentially unionizing workplaces, and then sometimes reopen with non-union workers.

“It does appear that the governor and perhaps some other businesses are nervous that if wages and the cost of employment rises enough in Alabama, that will ruin the advantage that Alabama has currently over other states and employers to come here,” she said. “They’re concerned about that advantage that we have not being quite as large as it is right now.”

This is why this is such a big deal for southern governors. There’s been a huge number of new car plants opening up in the South, largely from foreign automakers, but if the % of margin that’s saved by lower wages goes away then it’s easy to see a future where those jobs go somewhere else.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

I obviously love Willie Nelson, because I’m from Texas and also he’s amazing. Newcomer alt/queer country crooner Orville Peck is also great. The two of them singing about cowboys who are secretly fond of one another is just remarkable. Please enjoy. What did you think all those saddles and boots was about?

The Big Question

Am I wrong? Is there a better car for the average 2.5-person family than a hybrid crossover?