Featured Dropping hybrids . . . maybe

Both types are being pulled back to compliance status

Honda pulls back Clarity PHEV outside California

And for the record I rather not have tax credits if I have to pay fixed fees.
No credit and no fees works best when you keep cars as long as I do and I think a better incentive would be non-expiring license plates rather than money back. Could sell the savings better that way.

 

Honda probably has good business reasons for doing this and it probably makes good sense.

In my humble opinion manufactures due themselves a terrible disservice in the long run with this type of behavior. I think Toyota had made a similar strategic mistake with its Prime availability. Kind of a self fulfilling prophecy by limiting these vehicles to specific areas of the country.

In another way it may be good. Other manufactures who wants to make inroads in this market can seize the opening to build nation wide sales.

Reminds me of the 70's when American automakers quit making small vehicles because no one would buy them only to be caught with their pants down when the demand soared and still unable to catch up in some ways in this market segment..

 

We will likely see a shortage of batteries for most manufacturers in the near future, as production is lagging behind demand.

 

When looked upon in a vacuum, it may appear that way. But when looking at the bigger picture and longer duration, the prophecy to insulate themselves from market fallout appears to have been quite wise

Notice how both Ford & GM are preparing for difficult times? Notice how Ford & Honda are getting skittish on hybrids? Notice how GM & VW have given up entirely on all but EV offerings?

Notice how Toyota is ramping up Prime availability?

 

I completely forgot about the CAFE standards. It almost looks as if the Hybrid/EV market threw a monkey wrench into the works, and now the auto industry is beginning to stratifying along technology lines. It'll be interesting to see where things stand once the dust settles.

 

With all this talk about electric car takeover, I wonder what kind of push the gas station and oil companies (including OPEC) are taking?

 

I wouldn't call it a takeover. More like, an evolving change in the status-quo - the interstate system wasn't created overnight.

EV's may indeed become the dominant mode of ground transportation, but that evolution will not happen overnight either. It has the be competitive with to current technology and work within an evolving infrastructure. So I wouldn't worry too much about your ICE or hybrid vehicle becoming obsolete anytime soon. By the time that happens, you will likely be able to get antique plates for it.

 

In the automotive industry, that term "overnight" equates to a generation-cycle. Which means, being able to take the market by storm still takes 6 to 7 years. That's why Prius is still the only single vehicle in modern history to bring about a paradigm-shift. Tesla can't be included, because it started fresh, there was nothing for it to change from. Tesla was also very heavily subsidized by both tax-credits and investor-capital. Being a start-up means lots of low-hanging fruit, but major challenges after those picks are gone.

That brings us to the legacy automakers. Even if there was a will, there is not a way. We are now seeing the same desperation for profit as we did in the past. That pattern repetition can no longer be denied. In fact, it appears to be even worse this time. Anyone else remember how heavily Ford & GM relied upon SUV & Pickup sales for sustainable business?

This particular discussion is yet another component to the market taking a downturn. Notice how many announcements we get about a far better options than hybrids coming, but no detail whatsoever? Those incredibly vague promises of amazing future technology is exactly what we got in the past. Remember how GM attacked Toyota with all that "stop gap" propaganda? What about Two-Mode? What about ULSD vehicles?

It's about to get ugly for some automakers. All the belittling of Toyota for having prepared for such an "unlikely" turn of economic influence of the plug-in market is gone. Anyone else notice how the "leader" and "behind" insults have vanished from comments? For that matter, notice how the antagonists themselves have disappeared? That's a sign of problem recognition... like, oops!

 

I was speaking from the customers perspective. In any case, I agree with your definition. There HAS, in fact, been a paradigm shift in the industry, and there will be winners and looser as a result. That's the way markets work.

And I can agree with most of the other points you make as well. However, I have to disagree with your assessment of Tesla on one count: Their success with the EV constitutes it's own paradigm shift, over-and-beyond that of Toyota's HSD, using the hybrid market as a spring-board for establishing the EV. Whether Tesla deserves full credit for it might be debatable, but there is no doubt that their success has created a new market. Eventually, the EV will replace most, if not almost all, conventional ground transportation.

The point that I was making in my previous comment was not that this wouldn't happen, but rather that it was going to take some time for that eventuality to be fulfilled - at least to the extent that the customer really doesn't have to worry about it.

 

and now Trump's talking about new tariffs on lithium ion batteries....

 

Only a matter of time before Toyota and other big manufacturers get serious about electric..

Can’t wait..

Still think Tesla 3 is too expensive..

400 mile range sub-30k electric anyone ?

 

VW might be the first big car company to get serious.
They've acknowledged the potential for battery shortages by designing their BEV platform to be able to use different cell types(cylinderical, pouch, etc.)

 

Now if they don’t tax it out of existence

 

I'm keeping loose tabs on the Solo, but my guess is that its EPA range would be around 100 miles.
The parent company has been making custom cars for something like 70 years, so I'm giving the Solo better odds than the Elio.

 

So the other half of the car is an optional extra??

 

And people complain about the back seat of the Prime??

 

The MSRP is $16,250, and there might be an EV motorcycle tax credit available for it.
Solo - Electra Meccanica