High Demand For Hybrids Leaves Us Automakers In Park

’Tis the season for leaf peeping and, now that a slew of automakers reported earnings last week, deets peeping. Analysts were especially interested to see what’s happening to the auto industry amid high gas prices.

The big takeaways

Hybrid and passenger vehicles are having a moment. That, in turn, benefited Asian auto manufacturers in the quarter, because Ford, GM, and Stellantis have surrendered those categories:

• In the US market, Kia offers seven hybrid models, Hyundai six, Honda five, and Toyota 18.
• The Detroit automakers only offer two hybrid models: the Ford Maverick midsize pickup and a version of the Chevrolet Corvette.

That’s impacting overall market share. Asian automakers made more than half of the new cars that Americans bought in Q3, according to Cox Automotive, and cars from US manufacturers accounted for a record-low share of ~36%. Hybrid vehicles drove a lot of it:

• Korean automakers: Hyundai’s hybrid sales rose 39% in the third quarter, and Kia’s rose 152%.
• Japanese automakers: Toyota hybrid sales were up 29% for the quarter and Honda’s, 21%.

New record ahead? Korean automakers have never overtaken Ford in US auto sales, but demand for hybrids got them closer than ever last quarter.

• Hyundai and Kia combined sales rose to 506,200 vehicles, while Ford’s quarterly figure fell to 509,764.

Development is slow

That’s true for both manufacturers and consumers. Ford and GM plan to introduce more hybrid models, but automakers need years of on-ramping to bring new and different vehicle types to market.

And the biggest fans of big trucks and SUVs aren’t that quick to look for something more fuel-efficient. Erin Keating, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told the New York Times that Americans are reacting to high gas prices by driving less or curtailing their spending in other categories, not necessarily swapping vehicles.—HVL

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