Here’s a wild fact this morning, Ford managed to not only sell a record number of Ford Maverick small trucks, it actually outsold the perennial small/medium truck leader Toyota Tacoma. Not only did it outsell Tacoma, if you just look at Maverick Hybrids, the Maverick Hybrid outsold all Toyota Tacomas. Is this a weird issue of timing or a sign that Maverick Hybrids are the future? The answer is: Yes.
While we’re looking at sales, Kia continues to slide ever-so-slightly from its peaks last year while Hyundai continues to thrive. You know what’s up for many automakers? Electric car sales.
And, finally, what is going on at Tesla’s German plant? Did climate activists try to set the Tesla plant on fire? This is a weird story.
Ford Sold 6,464 Ford Maverick Hybrid Pickups In February
Sales data is starting to tiptoe in this week from automakers that still report monthly sales data, and this is going to be a weird month. It’s early in the year, production was still hampered in Q1 of 2023 for some automakers but not for other automakers. New models are rolling out. It’s pure chaos.
If chaos is a ladder, then the person standing on top of that ladder is the good ol’ Ford Maverick, a vehicle we love and is the right answer to almost every question that “Miata” can’t answer.
In particular, 13,262 people (there are probably some fleets, too) agreed with us last month and plopped down their cash for a Ford Maverick. That absolutely walloped Toyota, which only managed to move 5,045 Tacomas last month, down from 8,203 last month and 17,058 trucks in February 2023.
Ford doesn’t always break out hybrid sales beyond a super high level, so normally I’d just be able to tell you that total hybrid sales for the brand were 12,045 vehicles, up 31.5% year-over-year (compared to a 10.5% rise year-over-year for Ford in total). For whatever reason, Ford let slip to the Detroit Free Press and others that the company sold 6,463 Maverick Hybrids, up from a record October when the company sold 6,230 of them. This means more than half of Ford’s hybrids are Mavericks.
Ford says the rate of stealing customers from other brands, a carefully tracked data point called a “conquest rate,” is 59%.
“There’s nothing in the market quite like it,” said Erich Merkle, Ford U.S. sales analyst.
[…]
“Hybrid vehicles continue to be a growth segment for Ford and sales have grown at a faster rate than the overall U.S. industry,” Merkle said. “That’s before the new 2024 F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid goes on sale early this year.”
Already, about one in five retail orders for the 2024 F-150 are for the hybrid version, he said.
That Ford will be rolling out a hybrid F-150 is good news for the brand, because F-Series sales were actually down 5.8% while F-150 Lightning sales were up 93%. But more on that later.
So did Toyota screw the pooch? Absolutely not. The Maverick and Tacoma are not technically direct competitors (although both are the cheapest trucks the respective brands sell) and, as you might have guessed, this likely has way more to do with Toyota’s dwindling stock of 2023 Tacomas as it’s starting to roll out the extremely good 2024 Toyota Tacoma. By the end of the year, I suspect that Toyota will be back to its old ways and selling in the high teens/low twenties.
What I’m super curious about is how many of the new Tacoma sales will end up being the Tacoma Hybrid when that engine line is fully up to production. The same is true for the F-150 PowerBoost. Will the scales start to tip towards hybrid trucks?
What’s Going On With Kia?
Kia has been dunkin’ on fools for the last few years as the brand has transitioned rapidly from: you bought that? to I want that over the last 15 years. The same has been true for Hyundai. However, last month Hyundai managed to set a February sales record and Kia saw a decline of 3% year-over-year.
What’s going on?
Here’s how Automotive News framed it:
Hyundai’s top-selling crossovers, supported by sales promotions and deals, all had a big month: Sales of the Palisade, Santa Fe and Kona each rose 16 percent; and Tucson volume jumped 14 percent. Last month Hyundai offered 0 percent financing for up to 36 months or up to $1,500 off the 2024 Tucson, for eligible buyers.
[…]
Combined sales of Kia’s crossovers rose 6 percent last month, but lower Soul volume, the discontinued Rio and a 55 percent decline in K5 sedan sales were an overall drag on the company’s February deliveries.
Ok, let’s listen to the Kia official press release, which somehow skips mentioning explicitly that sales were down:
Kia America closed February with sales of 59,059 units. Sales of Kia’s EV models continued to climb, up 65-percent year-over-year through February with the ongoing launch of the award winning EV9 3-row EV SUV.
Kia’s rugged and capable SUVs were up 6-percent year-over-year and accounted for 76-percent of the February sales total.
Three Kia models set all-time February sales records, including: Carnival (+48-percent); Sportage (+18-percent); and Forte (+8-percent).
A closer look at the numbers supports the AN analysis, with K5 sales falling off a cliff from 5,146 to 2,291. Couple that with the demise of the Kia Rio and Kia Stinger and it’s clear that people are continuing to transition away from sedans to crossovers, either by choice or, maybe, by lack of choices.
A Good Month For EVs And Electrified Cars So Far
The Ford F-150 Lightning was up 93% year-over-year in February, moving a total of 2,578 trucks. The Mach-E, which just saw a drop in price, managed to hit 2,930 sales, which is up 64.3% year-over-year.
There’s good news at Kia as well, with overall EV sales up 65% year-over-year with the help of the brand new and seemingly excellent Kia EV9 finally coming onto the market. The EV9 managed to grab 1,318 sales in its first month, followed closely by the electric Kia EV6 at 1,309 units.
While Toyota and Honda don’t have a lot of pure EVs to offer, sales of “electrified” vehicles (mostly hybrids) jumped 84% at Toyota and Honda says it set a record with “electrified” sales of 20,681 vehicles.
It’s just the start of the “Year of the Hybrid” and already Jim Farley is out here saying he thinks the F-150 Hybrid could be the best-selling hybrid in America in short order.
Exciting times.
WTF Is Going On At Tesla Berlin?
#GigaBerlinBrandenburg
Tesla Gigafactory in has been without power for hours, production is at a standstill. The reason is said to be an arson attack on an electricity pylon.
Presumably this is an attack by the " climate activists "
The police have not yet commented on these… pic.twitter.com/VedH6EewfK— Gigafactory Berlin News (@Gf4Tesla) March 5, 2024
If you pay close enough attention to the news you realize the world is just an ouroboros. Today’s tale of the snake eating its own tail is the suspected arson attack at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin. Why would an environmentalist want to stop Tesla production?
Tesla is attempting to expand its plant into an area that residents would like to keep from being developed, according to Focus.de:
Climate activists have been supporting the residents’ resistance for several days. In a recent survey, the majority of the population of the 9,000-inhabitant community of Grünheide spoke out against Tesla’s expansion plans. Politicians must follow this vote, demanded the environmental groups.
This increases the trouble for the company and its only European car factory. There is also a dispute about Tesla wastewater and exceeding limit values. There is no quick solution in sight for an outstanding development plan.
Tesla wants to expand its site, which is partly in the water protection area, and build a freight station as well as logistics and warehouses. It is an area of around 120 hectares that is to be cleared for this purpose. The expansion plans should also be seen against the background that the car manufacturer wants to increase production and double the planned 500,000 cars per year to one million. The last estimate was 300,000 cars per year. Tesla argues that the freight station would shift traffic from road to rail.
We’ll expound upon this later this morning as we learn more.
What I’m Listening To As I Write TMD
Kind of a weird one today. I was building a Lego set with my daughter last night and I made a reference to the ’60s musical Bye, Bye, Birdie which went right over her head. I started to try to explain it and then decided it wasn’t worth my time. Then this morning we were watching The Simpsons and they did a parody of the song “Kids” from the musical and I let out a big laugh, so I had to listen to it.
If you don’t know Bye, Bye, Birdie it’s basically Grease for virgins. It’s fine. A great performance of Grease is probably better than a great performance of Bye, Bye, Birdie, but there rarely are great performances of Grease because it should be played 75% camp/25% sincere and everyone plays it 25% camp/75% sincere. A sincere Grease is awful, but Bye, Bye, Birdie is less an experiment in nostalgia and more about the pressures and pleasure of growing up, which is something a random high school kid in Portland can grasp fairly easily.
The Big Question
What are some cars that aren’t currently hybrid-ized that you’d like to see hybrid-ized?
I’m an engineer at an entity with a large vehicle fleet, and I would buy – would have already bought – dozens of Maverick hybrids for work if I could, but we just *cannot* get them. Sigh.
One thing that contributed to the Soul dropping in sales was both the aggressive restyling and hard pivot to interior tech that turned away the older buyers who were the largest demographic, and the increase in price that turned away younger first time car buyers. There’s seemingly no market for the Soul anymore.
Kia renaming the Optima to the K5 right as people were starting to remember the name Optima definitely hurt sales of that, further not being helped by the assisted murder of the sedan bodystyle.
And the Kia Sportage costs the same as a RAV4 now instead of being four or five thousand dollars cheaper. Why buy a Sportage with a reputation for cheap materials (so the masses say) when a “reliable” RAV4’s right there? And as a hybrid without the four thousand dollar price increase (I know technically the Sportage comes in the base LX trim with the hybrid drivetrain but no dealer ever stocks them or the EX because the SX comes with other fancy features to woo buyers and jack up the margins).
As for what car to hybridize… I don’t know. Hybrids currently are another bandage over the regulatory loopholes that enable gigantic road beasts rather than the lithe balance of performance and economy of the Insight, CR-Z, 200h, and Prius (yes I did just say the Prius/200h has performance, the third gen can absolutely jet in street traffic). Hybridizing most cars sold today is like giving an overweight stress eater a tape worm in that you’re not really solving the underlying issue, just the symptoms.
When comparing automatics, the Soul hasn’t increased in price too much compared to other lines, and about the same increase as the Forte has had which has had a marked increase in sales over the years which is important to note – the Forte didn’t break the 100k mark until 2016 and had its best-ever year in 2023, while the Soul was always good for >100k through 2018 then dropped, so for the money some buyers could be going Forte. Or Seltos for that matter, once you’re in the upper trims of the Soul, a Seltos is the same price and offers AWD.
I think the Soul has been always weird enough that the styling wouldn’t hurt it one way or another and H/K’s infotainment is arguably more user friendly than most, at least on ICE cars they’ve had a good mix of buttons, unlike some (Honda, ahem). It could also be pulling back from fleet sales (if they have done so, not sure).
For the Optima, SX-up trims seemed to do very well for the Optima, but the K5 they seemed to pull back significantly on the upper trims (GT). Perhaps that’s out of caution for durability of the 2.5T/DCT combo or they just figure the upper sedan market has shrunk.
I’m surprised that Kia/Hyundai did not see a larger hit from their Kia Boyz saga. I guess when you are already the bottom of the market, people don’t really have any other option if they attempt to vote with their wallet.
“Climate activists have been supporting the residents’ resistance for several days”
I disagree they are climate activists. More likely they are shills working on behalf of those who have an axe to grind against Tesla for one reason or another.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… there are a lot of groups who love to hate Tesla. People with ties to big oil, dealerships, legacy automotive and unions all have reasons to hate Tesla. And that’s just off the top of my head.
“What are some cars that aren’t currently hybrid-ized that you’d like to see hybrid-ized?”
All luxury car brands like Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, etc: If isn’t a BEV, then it should be a hybrid.
And all non-luxury brand vehicles that are NOT sporty/sports vehicles like the MX-5 Miata, BRZ/FRS/86, Shelby Mustang, etc. should be hybridized.
Transit buses… if they’re not already BEVs, then they should be hybridized… particularly to cut down on idling.
Commercial trucks… same as deal as transit buses. And I mean everything ranging from a Ford Transit delivery van right up to Class 8 trucks.
I see so many trucks regularly needlessly idling. And in some cases, they do need to idle to keep an AC unit in the box running. But a hybrid powertrain would help with that too.
This for sure. The fact that when the same amount of battery material as a Hummer EV (or any other large EV), when spread around to make 8 or 10 hybrid vehicles, it reduces overall emissions versus just making a single EV, is a huge point for hybrids. It’s unrealistic for a majority of Americans to make the jump to owning only electric vehicles; but if suddenly we can have new cars receive a 10+ mile boost to MPG, that is huge for both the environment and for American’s wallets. Also, the initial purchase price for a Hybrid is in the low 20s, a somewhat comparable EV is $10k more.
Hybrids work best in stop-and-go urban traffic (where they gain power from regenerative braking). Most Class 8 trucks would gain very little from going hybrid since most of their time is spent moving down the Interstates. Plus, most have switched over auxiliary HVAC units, so that they don’t need to idle their diesels on their mandated rest breaks.
True, but being able to use a hybrid system for idling and taking off from a stop could still be advantageous. Would also be quieter and make fewer emissions, especially in the urban/suburban areas. Heck, just thinking how much quieter a truck stop and busy loading dock area would be alone sounds (pun intended) wonderful.
It’s all about return on investment. In a perfect world, sure, it all makes sense if the costs to implement are ignored. But with over-the-road trucks, better aerodynamics and slightly reduced speeds have already delivered significant gains. Combine that with how the not-insignificant added weight of the batteries can reduce the legal loads that they’re allowed to carry, and the numbers start to add up. https://www.trucklabs.com/blog/fuel-saving-devices-semi-truck/ and https://www.freightwaves.com/news/viewpoint-10-mpg-in-a-class-8-on-the-open-road-yes-its-doable both focus on saving fuel, which, indirectly, also helps the environment.
“Most Class 8 trucks would gain very little from going hybrid”
I disagree. I see plenty of Class 8 trucks that get stuck in stop and go traffic regularly. Plus Class 8 trucks would benefit from regenerative braking like any other vehicle.
Have you checked out these guys? https://www.revoy.com/
Nope… but I have now… Interesting concept. Only downsides I see are extra tires and the extra length being a downside in some use cases.
Kia should have kept the Rio and made it a hybrid.
I mean, are Tacomas that scarce? I’m seeing 3,615 2024 Tacomas available on cars.com nationwide and nearly 400 2023 Models.
The new Tacoma is also thoroughly into “ludicrously expensive” territory, with most of the ones I’m finding on cars.com touching or exceeding $50k ….for a midsize, 4-cylinder truck.
Deliveries started halfway through the month but affordability and dealer markups will hamper the initial sales. Once dealers realize not many people want to pay $10k to $15k markups on a new Tacoma at current interest rates, then the market will normalize. This month’s Tacoma lower sales figures are due to the model year changeover. No, the Maverick will not outsell the Tacoma for the quarter or even the year.
“Available” on the website does not mean on lots ready to drive off
and the 23’s are going to be hard to move with the 24 being such a drastic change
I still don’t get in a car market selling over 1 million a month where sub 5,000 sales actually provide information. Sold 2,000 now 3,000 50% increase but irrelevant. Sales under 10,000 a month should be in units not percentage, over that it may be relevant but less so than actual units. If I sold 1 car in January and 3 in February that is a 300% increase seems good and horrible sales in reality. It just makes these small market players seem like underdog beating the big dog. I blame EVs for this getting all the play at 9% of the market.
Honda – Hybridize everything. Compete with Toyota.
There is a reason the Toyota dealers have tumbleweeds blowing through their lots (except for the Tacoma, Tundra, and non hybrid Camry) and everyone else is sort of getting back to normal inventory.
“What are some cars that aren’t currently hybrid-ized that you’d like to see hybrid-ized?”
I’m going to say VW Golf. For a few reasons. We need a nice Golf sized practical car. In other words, VW, just bring the Golf back to North America and please not with your current juvenile experiments in interior design and lousy ergonomics. Then make it a PHEV.
I’ll do my part and start picking out what colour to order.
“The Maverick and Tacoma are not technically direct competitors (although both are the cheapest trucks the respective brands sell)”. However, 90+% are used for the same thing (driving from A to B).
They also have empty beds in common.
And a backseat for legless people.
I can’t comment on the Taco, but the Maverick has plenty of back seat leg room. Unibody for the win.
Re: musicals: Just talk your words, please. I’m begging you. No singing. No numbers. Just say the thing.
Re: Mavericks: you are the one true light. Please pull the rest of the market down-size and downmarket with you. I’m begging you. No singing.
Counterpoint: “The Book of Mormon” has a song that pretty accurately describes Mormon beliefs/history and it would not work well spoken. (There are plenty of musicals that would work sans music, though, I’ll give you that.)
Maybe true, but the best ones don’t. For anyone who’s interested in why musicals work the way they do, I recommend the Sideways channel on YouTube. He does a great job of breaking down why musicals do or do not work in terms that non-music majors can understand. Unfortunately he’s on extended hiatus right now due to a bunch of shitty stuff that has happened, but his back catalog of videos is still a gold mine of music theory for laymen.
You’re right. A great musical needs to be a musical, and a bad musical probably wouldn’t be saved by eliminating the music. It’s a few of those in between that could be nonmusical. I am pretty sure that “plenty” was an overstatement on my part.
But I’m definitely going to have to check out Sideways.
The problem is that if the words were spoken, people might realize how banal the scripts really are. On the other hand, I guess that hasn’t stopped much of the crap coming out of Hollywood these days. Remember when they had writers? Writers who were actually encouraged to use their brains and create? All this serial remake crap of recent years has actually got me rooting for AI to take over.
A live musical, I can get. A musical film? Not so much.
I wish the Maverick Hybrid was available with all-wheel drive.
The two trains of thought are that the option will be available with a 2025/26 refresh or Ford will bring it out once sales start to dip. Since I’m not sure Maverick sales are going to fall off anytime soon, I’m hoping for the former. Heck, there’s so much demand, I’m a little surprised Ford hasn’t allocated another assembly to build Mavericks to increase their supply.
I have to assume they are trying to not eat into their high margin(see: wildly overpriced) F150 sales.
That’s also my tin-foil hat theory. I pray to the automotive gods we’re wrong.
Is anyone cross-shopping the two vehicles, an F150 is more than double a Maverick in
manymost cases.The Maverick is the truck people need, smallish, cheapish, economical and nicer than most vehicles in its price range. The Tacoma is more of a want than need and also in a lame duck period.
I just wish it wasn’t made by Ford loll the same way I want a Wrangler that isn’t made by Jeep
You could have a wrangler made by Ford lol
The Maverick and Tacoma are not really the same type of truck. The Maverick is really a unicorn in that its the only truly small truck… that still looks like a truck. The Tacoma is now a more bloated “mid-sized” truck. Also- by now surely every potential Tacoma buyer knows the new Tacomas are going to hit dealer lots anyday now so why buy the old one?
because the new one is 4 cyl only. Some folks may want the V6 (although we all know it was lackluster and barely adequate for this application)