Electric Vehicle Sales Have Collapsed, But Hybrid Vehicles Are Quietly Taking Over
Toyota took heat for years for being slow to jump on the electric-vehicle bandwagon. But the world’s largest automaker was planning later this year to showcase its revved-up EV ambitions with the debut of a new flagship Lexus EV. It was supposed to kick-start Toyota’s hopes of making the brand all-electric by 2035. Then President Trump killed off the $7,500 tax credit for buying or leasing a new EV, allowing the popular program to expire in September. The White House rolled back fuel economy standards. Auto loans got more expensive as interest rates shot up. Within months, U.S. EV sales cratered — down 27 percent in the first quarter this year compared with 2025, said Cox Automotive.As a result, automakers have been busy scrapping EV models and writing off billions in investments, reports The Washington Post. In May, Toyota abandoned its electrified Lexus “in light of the surrounding environment.” Honda canned three EV models for the American market and took a $9 billion EV-related write-down. But automakers have not seen a surge in consumers buying traditional gas vehicles. Buyers instead are pivoting to the market’s surprising bright spot: hybrids.Click here for the full story.
BMW Will Build a New Electric S.U.V. in South Carolina
BMW said it would begin producing electric vehicles in the United States by the end of the year, a contrarian move when many automakers are slowing investment in the technology. According to The New York Times, the iX5, a midsize electric sport utility vehicle, will be the first new electric vehicle to roll off the assembly line at the German automaker’s factory in Spartanburg, S.C. By 2030, the company plans to produce six electric models at the plant, one of its most important and largest outside Germany.Other automakers have delayed or canceled electric vehicle projects in recent months and recorded multibillion-dollar losses as a result. They have been responding to weak U.S. sales after Congress eliminated subsidies for electric car purchases. BMW exports about half of the vehicles it makes in Spartanburg, where it produced more than 400,000 vehicles last year. The South Carolina complex is the company’s main hub for producing the X5 and other sport utility vehicles. Exports allow BMW to benefit from strong demand for electric vehicles in Europe, where they account for 20 percent of new vehicle sales. That compares with about 6 percent in the United States. Click here for the full story.
Used Car Prices Continued to Rise in June, Carfax Reports
Used vehicle prices kept climbing in June, but the pace slowed sharply. Prices on Carfax rose about 1.3 percent for the month, down from more than 3 percent in May. That put the average overall increase slightly above $350, down from nearly $900 a month earlier, reports CBT News. Used cars saw the smallest six-month increase, rising a little more than $1,350 since the start of the year. Used pickup trucks, luxury cars and SUVs all posted increases topping $1,500. Used vans and minivans rose by more than $2,000 while used luxury SUVs climbed by nearly $2,800. Used hybrids and electric vehicles led every segment. Those prices have soared more than $3,600 since the beginning of 2026, a gain of 11.9 percent. Higher oil prices drove much of that jump. Interest in hybrids and EVs was expected to drop after the federal tax credit ended but high gas prices have reinvigorated both segments. Click here for the full story.
How Western Automakers Are Losing Their Grip on the Chinese Market
The mid-2010s were a golden age for Western carmakers in China, the world’s biggest auto market. Brands such as Buick and Volkswagen thrived as a newly empowered class of buyers couldn’t get into foreign cars fast enough. But now that footprint is slipping away, reports The Wall Street Journal. The biggest Western automaker in China, Volkswagen, saw the market share for its brands fall to 9.7 percent in 2025 from 14.7 percent in 2015, according to data from industry consulting firm AlixPartners. The German carmaker is now eyeing tens of thousands of job cuts globally, in part because of lost ground in China. Volkswagen went from $5 billion in profit from its Chinese operations to a projected $228 million to $684 million this year. Today, Western car companies face intense competition from the local companies they once taught how to make cars. American brands’ total market share fell to 5 percent last year from 12 percent in 2014, according to AlixPartners. Chinese cars that offer more features, better technology and more competitive pricing make up two-thirds of new car sales in the country. Click here for the full story.
Why Dealerships Are Redesigning Service Bays into Customer Showpieces
Dealers are rethinking decades of industry practice by redesigning service areas as customer-facing showpieces — complete with glass walls, spotless bays and cameras that livestream repairs to waiting rooms. “The fixed operations of the business is no longer a back door. It is something you think about first,” said Linda Barnette, managing partner at Technical Automotive Construction Advisors in Elmont, N.Y., which specializes in the design and renovation of automotive dealerships.According to Automotive News, demand for a more transparent customer experience is transforming the bays from the secret domains of service technicians to a high-tech showcase for the dealership. A new kind of service department is a sign of shifting customer expectations, said Christian Ugarte, service director at the Casa Autoplex, part of Casa Auto Group.Casa Auto Group in January completed its new Hyundai dealership in Las Cruces, N.M. The group installed cameras for customers in the dealership waiting room to watch their vehicle service at the off-site service department.“Before, everything was covered,” he said. “You didn’t want the customer to see what was going on.” Click here for the full story.
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