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Runtime: 9:16
0:00 ICE Is Making A Global Comeback
0:52 Lucid Sees EV Demand Drop in U.S. And EU
1:22 VinFast Losing U.S. Dealerships
1:51 Redwood Pivots from EV To Energy Storage
2:30 Why EVs Will Make A Comeback
3:29 Kia Introduces All-New Seltos
4:17 Citroen’s ELO Concept Sort of Like Canoo
5:06 Subaru Prices EV To Sell
5:57 Expensive Cars Outsell Cheap Ones
6:37 Riding Mowers Look Like 1950’s Classic American Cars
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ICE IS MAKING A GLOBAL COMEBACK
In a completely unexpected move compared to what most industry experts were thinking last year, internal combustion powertrains are making a comeback. And it’s happening globally. According to a report from EY, the consulting firm, half of all the car buyers in the world plan to buy a new or used ICE vehicle. Interest in buying EVs has dropped by 10 percentage points. Perhaps even more surprising is that interest in hybrids dropped by 5 percentage points. EY blames government policy changes, trade wars, worries about EV charging infrastructure and cost for causing consumers to rethink what their next car should be.
LUCID SEES EV DEMAND DROP IN U.S. AND EU
Mark Winterhoff, the CEO of Lucid Motors, seconds that opinion. He says demand for EVs is clearly decelerating in the U.S. and Europe. Lucid only expects to make 18,000 cars this year. As we reported yesterday, Morgan Stanley downgraded Tesla stock this week. And it did the same for Lucid and Rivian. Morgan Stanley says the industry is entering an EV winter that will last all next year.
VINFAST LOSING U.S. DEALERSHIPS
Meanwhile, VinFast is losing dealerships in the U.S. Two of them have closed and another will be out of business by the end of the year. Automotive News reports that other dealerships appear to have stopped selling cars. One dealership in Kentucky just shows an error message when you search for its website. VinFast was building an assembly plant in North Carolina, but that’s now on hold. And we suspect that it will not be revived.
REDWOOD PIVOTS FROM EV TO ENERGY STORAGE
As the EV segment cools, Redwood Materials, the battery recycling company founded by JB Straubel who came from Tesla, is rolling with the punches. It’s changing to becoming a battery materials company and is pivoting from EVs to energy storage systems. Demand for electricity and back-up systems is soaring in the U.S. as tech companies are in a mad rush to build data centers that will feed artificial intelligence models. Redwood will still recycle EV batteries, but it’s pulling back on other projects, like making cathodes for batteries.
WHY EVs WILL MAKE A COMEBACK
Here’s our Autoline insight. The EV segment may be wounded, but it will recover, though it’s going to take several years. As automakers come out with more affordable electric cars and as the charging infrastructure continues to grow, more car buyers will become interested in electrics. I keep hearing critics say that no one wants EVs. When I ask them how many EVs have been sold in the U.S. this year, they either don’t know or have wildly low guesses. Here’s the answer. 1.3 million. 1.3 million car buyers have bought the cars that supposedly no one wants.
KIA INTRODUCES ALL-NEW SELTOS
Kia took the wraps off the all-new Seltos compact SUV and it gets a fresh look inside and out. It comes with three powertrain setups at launch. A 1.6L turbocharged gasoline engine that can be mated with a 7-speed dual clutch transmission or a six-speed manual. A higher output version of that engine is also available but it’s paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. And lastly a 2.0L gasoline engine is also available. A hybrid will be added at a later date. The Seltos is also available with a number of new safety and convenience features. Global production of the new Seltos begins this month in India, followed by South Korea, North America, Europe and China throughout 2026.
CITROEN’S ELO CONCEPT SORT OF LIKE CANOO
Citroen revealed a new concept called the ELO. It’s a compact minivan that reminds us of the Canoo EV. The ELO is 100% electric but Citroen didn’t share any of its specs. The model is meant to showcase its spacious and modular interior that can accommodate up to six people. The driver’s seat can be turned around for conversation and it can also be transformed into a sleeping space for two people, a home cinema room, a power supply, and many other uses. Goodyear developed the smart tires for the model, which can measure pressure and wear in real time, monitored with an app. The ELO will make its official debut at the Brussels auto show in January.
SUBARU PRICES EV TO SELL
Subaru announced pricing for its new Uncharted EV, which goes on sale early next year in the U.S. It starts just under $36,500, including destination charges, which is a pretty aggressive price. The model features a 74.7-kWh lithium-ion battery. All-wheel-drive versions have an estimated 285 miles of range and 338-horsepower. Front-drive models are expected to have more than 300 miles of range and 221-horses. It comes standard with a NACS charging port and it can charge its battery from 10-80% in 30 minutes. The Uncharted is based on the electric Toyota C-HR and is built in Japan.
EXPENSIVE CARS OUTSELL CHEAP ONES
Here’s a fascinating factoid from Cox Automotive. Everyone’s talking about affordability and how expensive cars are. Last month, cars and trucks that cost $75,000 or more outsold the ones that cost less than $30,000. Vehicles priced over $75,000 captured 10.8% of market share, those under $30,000 had 7.5% market share. As Cox Automotive points out, that’s what people chose to buy, not what’s available. Even so, we’d argue this proves that the auto industry has priced the average household out of the American market.
RIDING MOWERS LOOK LIKE 1950’S CLASSIC AMERICAN CARS
We had to close with this item that popped up on our Facebook feed. Check out these riding lawn mowers that look like classic Chevrolets from the 1950s. They look pretty cool. But here’s the thing, while you can find pictures and videos of these things all over the internet and social media, we couldn’t find any info about companies that make them or even sell parts to make them. Is this just an AI scam? We figured there’s no better source to turn to than the Autoline audience. Anyone out there got any more info?.
And with that we wrap up today’s report. Thanks for watching Autoline Daily.
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I’ve seen golf carts with ’57 Chevy looking rear ends and similar, but not lawn mowers.
AI images of vintage lawnmowers.
AI is so powerful you can almost simulate anything you desire. I don’t see a mass audience for these ‘oldies’ but I’m sure a custom shop could do this for $$$$$$$$$$$$
I am not surprised that $75k plus vehicles outsold $30k and under vehicles. I am sure that there are many more models available to choose from in the $75 plus category as opposed to the $30 and under. My opinion is that many people with $30k to spend quickly pivot to shopping for nicer used vehicles with more space, bells and whistles. Under $30k buys a pretty basic vehicle these days.
It’s one way to own a 57 chevy. But doesn’t look like you could take your favorite date with you.
But if it’s a custom build it may cost as much as a 57 Chevy does.
I can’t imagine anyone wanting a lawn mower with a Corvette body, unless they are just using it to run around in a gated community. You’d smash up the body within two minutes if you tried to mow with it. That’s a cool AI image, though, with the C1 Corvette body.
The thing that would re-ignite EV sales would be widespread availability of “home” charging at condos and apartments, and/or low cost charging at most places where people spend time away from home, like work places, restaurants, malls, Walmarts, etc. I’m in a condo complex with 240 units, and, to my knowledge, there are zero EVs. Popular cars here are Kia Soul, Kia Sportage, Chevy Equinox, Nissan Rogue, Toyota Corolla, etc. Most of these people never take road trips, and would consider an EV, if there was convenient and cheap charging at our complex.
Those Vinfast vehicles sure are good looking vehicles to my eye! Too bad they couldn’t live up to that promise. That Subaru EV looks interesting as well and that price isn’t hard to look at either. On that front and to Kit’s point, if more EVs were priced like the Equinox EV and EV charging were readily available, they woukd sell more (especially if they were styled as good as those Vinfast). Yet, I fear that when lower priced EVs enter the US market, styling will not be a high priority and will be a ‘luxury’ for more expensive vehicles!
EV sales slowing is likely in part potential buyers looking at how the cost of electricity AND EV insurance has been changing over the last 2 years. I’ve seen a 65% increase in the delivered cost of a kWh of electricity since Jan 23 when I got my EV. I’m NOT happy that the cost effectiveness of my vehicle has been substantially eroded by costs at multiple fronts. It’s still a great ride, but the savings I was planning on are 1/3 of what they were almost 3 years ago.
John, to me this stat on new car sales say there’s lots of wealthy (or irresponsible) people who able to buy expensive vehicles. Wow very surprising to me. Options in sub $30k include volume hitters like Civic, Corolla, Prius, Elantra, low end Camry & Accord, and several others. It looks to me like those who can only afford less than $30k are buying second hand. Or just keeping their old vehicles.
As I grow older, I value depreciation more and more. $70k+ vehicles cost more to insure, register, maintain, refuel, and most importantly, will come with very stiff depreciation. You could depreciate a $30k vehicle by 100% in two years and still lose less than reselling an $80k vehicle at similar timeframe.
ELO was a band way back when,I wonder if Citroen is paying royalties to them
I’ll be surprised if Vinfast makes it. From what I’ve read, the vehicles are, might we say, underdeveloped. They do, or did offer some really cheap leases which should get a few on the road, but almost $50K for a vehicle that will probably lose half its value overnight, and maybe soon be an “orphan” doesn’t sound like a very good purchase proposition, when you can get a Equinox EV for $35K.
Fewer sales of sub-$30k vehicles is largely due to 2026 model year rollout with increased MSRP/destination fees on many vehicles. For example, from 2025 to 2026 model year the MSRP on Corolla increased $400 for nearly all trims, and destination fees increased $60. The base Tucson SE is the only Tucson trim under $30k, but MSRP increased $495 and destination fee increased $105, pushing the base MSRP+destination above $30k for the first time ever. And some sub-$30k vehicles being discontinued (Soul, Versa) will continue to reduce market share of this price category too.
Hydrogen Combustion Engines (H2ICE) *can* be ZE (0 NOx) – particularly in a hybrid setup where it runs in fixed RPM/loads.
H2ICE research engines have recorded 0 NOx when operated in fixed load settings but the point is there is an A/F window that does NOT allow the Combustion Chamber to reach the “NOx formation zone”
Cummins & Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) built an H2ICE Class 8 Demo Tractor that showed 10 ppm NOx across the board – most of which is transient.
H2ICE will drive H2 sales & production & H2ICE can operate on a dirtier H2 gas mix than fuel cells, allowing H2 gas sales if/when gas quality issues arise.
Small Businesses can swap engines instead of wholesale vehicle inventory replacement & classic cars can stay classic.
Ask the consumer to change the fuel & now you’re more likely to improve ePowertrain acceptance when those not ready to buy may observe.
Electric Powertrains are simply less widgets per car.
The IC Engine will eventually be phased out and H2ICE provides an alternative technology for the millions of cars already here.
Many of us are excited to have the opportunity to Keep the Rumble, Lose the Emissions.
H2ICE was patented ~70 years before the fossil fuel engine.
Herr Otto blessed us with thy 4-stroke cycle & helped Maybach & team develop the carb that atomized the fuel.
As those were developed they ran it on hydrogen because the fossil fuel was too volatile & it was difficult to predict when combustion would occur.
Here we are… Full circle, back to Hydrogen 😉
(we never really left, TBH)
Check out our H2ICE advocacy paper – free to download – http://www.352innovation.com/352-innovation-in-the-media
Sincerely,
Krystyna Kubran
Founder & Lead Engineer at 352 Innovation
KEEPING the ENGINE in ENGINEERING 🤘