As a journalist who covers the auto industry, it's not my job to stick up for companies. Very much the opposite, in some cases. But I do feel some sympathy. They're all barrelling toward an eventual all-electric future, and how eventual that is depends on who you ask. In the meantime, getting their customers' wants and needs to match up with toughening emissions rules, all while running a capital-intensive business that takes years to plan out, is... hard, to say the least.
All of this is to say that amid uneven EV sales, American buyers now say they want plug-in hybrids. But will they—the customers, the car companies themselves, even the charging providers—all show up at once to make that dream a reality?
That kicks off this Monday edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of tech and mobility news. Also on deck today: those harsh new anti-China tariffs aren't as popular as you might think, and Honda is still trying to figure out what to call its EVs. Let's dig in.
30%: A Plug-In Hybrid Boom Or Bust?
Call it an unexpected side effect of the EV revolution: buyers hear about EVs all the time, but for many reasons, decide they're not "ready"—but seem more open to the idea of hybrids than ever. It's why hybrid sales are starting to outpace EVs, why automakers like General Motors are saying "yes" to them when they previously said "no," and why Ford is backtracking on a three-row electric SUV for a hybrid variant instead.
Beyond just regular hybrids, PHEVs—which operate like gas cars, plug in to recharge their batteries and get better range than normal hybrids—are gaining steam.
But here's the thing: there still aren't that many on the market right now. EV options far outnumber them. And though more are coming, that will take years—and it's worth asking if the market will still even want them in 2027 or so.
Here's the Wall Street Journal on this trend and what's next:
The number of plug-in-hybrid models on sale in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 2019, to 47, according to automotive research site Edmunds. These include well-known nameplates, such as the Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape compact SUVs.
Dealers say some car shoppers who are interested in going electric still want the security of a gas engine. Buyers also are finding that, with hefty support from automakers and the federal government, plug-in hybrids can sometimes be the cheapest option.
[...] In the U.S., much of the growth of plug-in hybrids has been driven by regulations, analysts say.
The Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee alone accounted for about one-third of U.S. plug-in hybrid sales during the first half of 2024, according to data from research firm Motor Intelligence.
Global automaker Stellantis, parent company of Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler, has paid hefty federal fines for failing to meet emissions rules in the past, a byproduct of its fuel-thirsty vehicle lineup. The company, which only this year started selling a fully electric vehicle in the U.S., is leaning into plug-in hybrids as a way to comply with state and federal laws.
“Plug-in hybrids balance the need to reduce vehicle emissions and offer consumers an entry point to electrified vehicles,” a Stellantis spokesperson said.
But the PHEV market is a truly weird one.
There are a few stalwarts there, like Volvo, BMW and Lexus. But even Toyota's options like the Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime are very tough to find. Stellantis' options here, like the aforementioned Jeeps, are often driven by steep discounts and incentives because they help offset the other gas-guzzling cars with their fuel economy. And GM wants to play in this space again, but not for another three years—which feels like forever the way modern car tech is advancing.
Plus, there's the question of whether people will actually plug them in, or if they'll do anything to help grow the charger network. And will the dealers educate people on how to operate PHEVs correctly? They certainly haven't had a great track record with EVs.
I don't look at EVs, PHEVs and hybrids as an "either/or" thing in the near-term; reducing gas use and emissions is always good for the planet. But PHEVs lately are seen as this kind of Hail Mary play, and I think their wider, more mainstream success is far from guaranteed.
60%: Not Everybody Loves The China Tariffs
Meanwhile, as China's electric auto industry advances at a light-speed pace and posts up in Mexico, you'd think every U.S. car sector business would be for the Biden Administration's stiff new 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and other penalties against battery components from that country.
You'd be wrong! Reuters explains that China and the U.S. are more interwined than people realize, and industry officials here may want the government to ease up a bit:
Manufacturers from electric vehicles to electric utility equipment have asked for the higher tariff rates to be reduced, delayed or abandoned, and for potential exclusions to be greatly expanded.
Democratic senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner from Virginia and Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff from Georgia also raised concerns about the impact on ports in their states, calling for existing orders for Chinese cranes to be exempted.
Warnock and Ossoff also urged USTR to reconsider the planned 50% tariff on syringes, saying they could disrupt supplies for those used to feed newborn infants.
Ford Motor asked USTR to reduce proposed tariffs on artificial graphite, a key material used in the production of anodes for electric vehicle batteries. Ford said it still "almost exclusively" uses Chinese secondary-particle graphite.
Autos Drive America, a group representing foreign-brand automakers, called for tariff rates on batteries, modules, cells, and critical minerals to be kept stable through at least 2027 to allow automakers to "fulfill investments in U.S. production and to bolster consumer adoption" of EVs.
A "final determination" on these tariffs is expected at the end of August; they were supposed to be in effect by now. As that story notes, the election also complicates things, as now-Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris could be seen as being "soft" on China if the rules ease up now.
Expect more on this from InsideEVs as it develops, but I wouldn't be shocked if a decision somehow got punted to mid-November.
90%: Honda Doesn't Know What To Call Its Next EVs
What's in a name? All I know is that the Honda 0 Series Saloon Concept above probably isn't what comes to mind when you think "Accord."
In an Automotive News column, editor Jamie Butters articulates a problem many automakers are facing: what do you do with the names of your "iconic" models amid the EV transition? You don't abandon something with as much brand equity as the BMW 3 Series, for example. They've all approached this in different (and sometimes awkward) ways, like Audi making the even-numbered cars into EVs or Ford aping the Mustang's look for a totally new model.
Butters writes that Honda isn't sure what to do yet. The Prologue name was chosen on purpose as a GM-sourced predecessor to the EVs it will make in-house, but what about the rest?
But is that the right approach going forward with models based on Honda's own "thin, light and wide" 0 Series platform? "We must think about this," said Kazuhiro Takizawa, CEO of American Honda Motor Co. "We still have time, so it's not fixed yet."
But with production set to begin in about a year, time is running short.
How to name EVs is a question that is not unique to Honda and Acura.
Consider Volkswagen. It has identified its EVs with ID names — mostly ID with a number, like the ID4 crossover made in Chattanooga, but also the ID Buzz that evokes the erstwhile Microbus using an electricity pun. But what of the brand's great established names? In an all-electric future, will there be no Golf, no Passat?
In the American market, the pressure on a brand like Honda is even more intense. The company is "still watching" the German brands and trying to learn from their experience, said Executive Vice President Shinji Aoyama.
"I understand the naming of the vehicle is pretty much important," he said. "And many customers are basically confident" with the existing names of Honda vehicles, "such as Civic, Accord, CR-Vs. But we are also wondering what to do."
Butters and I landed on the same idea here: just call it "e-Civic" or "Civic Electric" or something. I'd argue more American buyers would be into that as EVs go more mainstream. Then there's this gem:
Acura will come out with at least one EV a year, Aoyama said, and it stands to reason Honda will as well. By 2028, Acura will launch a battery-powered exotic sports car along the lines of an NSX — and Aoyama couldn't help but laugh when he acknowledged that it may or may not be called an NSX.
Hey, going all-electric would be an interesting way to do a New Sports eXperimental, right?
100%: What Is The Right Approach To Car Naming In A PHEV And EV World?
Hyundai and Kia kind of lucked out here; using the Ioniq and EV names allowed them to hit reset on their brand identity and start fresh. Others, like Mercedes-Benz or Honda, probably don't want a wholesale reset but more of a transition. So what's the right way to ease into the electric era without abandoning the icons people know and trust?
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
