Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap-up January 7-13, 2024
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Here are Larry's story picks from this past week's important to you, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive news nuggets.
Nutson's Auto News Weekly Wrap-up January 7-13, 2024
* Prices down; incentives up. The U.S. new-vehicle average transaction price in December 2023 was $48,759, an increase of 1.3% month over month but down 2.4% year over year, according to data released from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company. New-vehicle sales incentives climbed for the second month in a row in December, reaching 5.5% of the average transaction price (ATP) for the first time since August 2021. The average price paid for a luxury vehicle in December 2023 was $62,523, a decrease of less than 1% from November but down 8.8% year over year. Luxury brand incentives averaged 6.2% of ATP in December. The average price paid for a new electric vehicle in December 2023 was $50,798, down from a revised $52,362 in November and supported by incentive levels well above the industry average. In December, EV incentives reached their highest point of 2023 at 10.6% of ATP. A year ago, EV incentives were less than 2% of ATP.
* Slow progress on EV chargers: The Biden Administration announced $623 million in grants to states, local governments and tribes made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. These grants will fund 47 EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico—including the construction of approximately 7,500 EV charging ports—accelerating President Biden’s goal of building a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. The CFI program complements the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program funding the installation of EV chargers along the nation’s highways. This is combined with more than $150 billion in investments from private companies since President Biden took office. But progress on the network has been slow. Ohio and New York are the only states that have opened charging stations under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. Several other states, including Pennsylvania and Maine, have broken ground on federally funded projects and are expected to open stations early this year. A total of 28 states, plus Puerto Rico, have either awarded contracts to build chargers or have accepted bids to do so. The number of publicly available charging ports has grown by nearly 70% to 168,426, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said. That number is about one-third of the way to Biden’s goal, with six years remaining.
* Sporadic EV sales of mostly Teslas: Cox Automotive reports EVs made up 7.4% of total US new vehicle retail sales in 2023. Over 1.1 million EVs were sold, with Tesla selling 654,888--65.5%. There is wide variation in EV sales across the country. California leads with 21.1% and Washington follows with 15.4% of retail sales. The only other state above the national average is New Jersey with 10.3%. Ironically, Michigan, home of the Detroit Three, is at 3.1%. The "coal-state" of West Virginia is at 1.1% and the lowest sales are in North Dakota at 0.7%. EV share of retail sales is forecasted to increase to 10% in 2024 and 15% in 2025.
* Turn signal buttons a no-go: According to an article in Electek.co new Tesla vehicles are starting to get banned from driving schools in Norway. The problem? Tesla’s new turn signals. In Norway, where electric vehicles are the norm and virtually every new car sold is all-electric, kids are now starting to learn to drive in electric vehicles, and Tesla is the most popular brand. But now some driving schools in Norway are banning new Tesla vehicles from being used due to a feature that Tesla first introduced in Model S and Model X, but it more recently made its way in the more popular Model 3. That’s the lack of stalk for turn signals. Instead, Tesla is using force touch buttons on the steering wheel. Jåhn Hansen Øyen, who runs the Harstad Traffic School in Norway, was looking for a new vehicle for his school, and Tesla was at the top of his list. When testing the Tesla Model 3, he not only didn’t like the turn signal, he also found a specific case where they are dangerous: roundabouts. In Norway, you have to indicate your exit in a roundabout by activating your turn signal, and he found it difficult while turning the steering wheel, which you have to do in a roundabout. A driving student would fail their test if they don’t activate their turn signal in a roundabout in Norway.
* Tesla gets lower driving range: Elektrek.com also reports Tesla has adjusted its EPA estimated ranges across most of its lineup due to a new EPA rule that should make estimated ranges more realistic. The change was forced by an updated EPA rule. In short, the rule change clarifies how to account for different drive modes and forces automakers to test for them and now advertise a range based on average results. This is resulting in Tesla lowering ranges across almost its entire lineup. This is what EPA says about how to apply the rule change to new vehicles: "This new policy is applicable to new testing for 2024 model year and later vehicles. It may be applied to new testing for 2023 model year vehicles. Vehicles utilizing carry-over data may continue to use data generated under previous policy for as long as the tests are valid (i.e., no changes to the vehicle requiring new MPGe/range testing are required). Manufacturers who add a new configuration to a test group for 2024 and later must present new test results using this policy, but existing data can still be used if it is representative." We ask: Will other EV automakers also be adjusting EPA-estimated driving ranges?
* MAMA's favorite: The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) announced the seven category winners for MAMA’s Favorite Vehicle of 2024 award. Each winner is now a finalist for the overall title that will be voted on by the association’s 189 nationwide media members. MAMA's Favorite Vehicle of 2024 award that will be announced at the 2024 Chicago Auto Show on February 8. The winners in each category are: Family Vehicle: Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid MAX; Luxury Vehicle: Genesis G90 3.5T E-Supercharger AWD; Off-Roader: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon X 4xe; Pickup Truck: Ford Maverick Tremor; Performance Vehicle: Ford Mustang Dark Horse; Affordable Vehicle: Chevrolet Trax; Plug-In Vehicle: Hyundai IONIQ 6.
* No more road sign jokes: The Federal Highway Administration is not laughing at quirky road signs. "Use yah blinkah" is a favorite in Massachusetts. According to the Wall Street Journal, they're cracking down on the practice. The signs are designed to relay important information. The problem, according to federal officials, is that many people miss the jokes and get confused or distracted trying to figure them out. In the newest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, guidance on humorous signs states they “might be misunderstood or understood only by a limited segment of road users." The FHA is giving states two years to do away with the humor.
* Diesel buses going away: US DoE factoid of the week: In 2020, more than half (56%) of all transit buses were either hybrid electric or powered by an alternative fuel such as natural gas, propane, hydrogen, biodiesel, or electricity. In 1996, the vast majority (95.4%) of transit buses were powered by conventional petroleum diesel. By 2020, conventional diesel transit buses represented only 42.7% of the total fleet. Natural gas, including compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), fueled 30.2% of transit buses in 2020 while 18.8% were hybrid electric, 5.6% ran on biodiesel, and 1.4% were powered by hydrogen.
* Gas prices down: This week GasBuddy data was showing the national average price of gasoline at $3.025/gal, the lowest since 2021. GasBuddy counts 30 states that have average gas price of $2.99/gal or less: OK AR WI MS TX CO OH KS LA MO TN AL IN ND IA UT WY NE KY MN MI SC SD WV NM MT NC DE VA GA. But, an arctic blast could have impacts on refineries...this could derail the chances of a $2.99 national average.
* Cars of the future: CES 2024, the electronics trade fair, is taking place in Las Vegas this week. Kia returned to CES for the first time in five years with a closer peek its EV3 and EV4 concepts, as well as the EV9 and EV6 GT. Kia also showed its so-called "platform beyond vehicle" (PBV) and five commercial-use Kia PBV concept models that's scheduled for mass production in 2025. Hyundai shared a blueprint for its vision of a hydrogen-powered energy ecosystem and revealed a modular hydrogen toolbox that it says will help forge a clean hydrogen value chain. Volkswagen presented the first vehicles in which the artificial-intelligence-based chatbot ChatGPT is integrated into its IDA voice assistant. BMW showed new infotainment features for its current model lineup. Honda announced the “Honda 0 Series,” a new global EV series launching in 2026, represented by the world premiere of two concept models, Saloon and Space-Hub. VinFast unveiled an electric pickup concept that could go on sale in the U.S. as early as 2026.
* Auto show reboot: The Detroit Auto Show is returning to a January date in 2025. From the Detroit Free Press we read: "Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, told the Free Press on Thursday that the 2025 Detroit auto show will begin with the Charity Preview the night of Friday, Jan. 10, and conclude on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20. The DADA runs the Detroit show." There will be no show in 2024. Auto shows are returning to their former status as local events hosted and paid for by dealers. The megabuck international media attractions they evolved into over the last four decades will be no more.
* Where's my car?: A new year often brings new laws. In Illinois car manufacturers are now required to create a 24/7 vehicle theft hotline to help local law enforcement track down stolen vehicles in real time using their existing global positional systems (GPS). This legislation is a pivotal tool for police officers to locate stolen vehicles, find and arrest perpetrators, and prevent vehicles from being used in additional crimes.
* EV backdown: Rental firm Hertz Global Holdings said it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles from its U.S. fleet due to higher expenses related to collision and damage, and will opt for gas-powered vehicles. Hertz had said it would order 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022 and followed that with a decision to buy up to 65,000 units over five years from Polestar. The company had previously set a target for 25% of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024. Hertz's used car website lists more than 700 EVs on sale including BMW's i3, Chevrolet's Bolt and Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y SUVs. Tesla vehicles make up 80% of Hertz's EV fleet. Editorial note: The main issue is the inability for renters to conveniently recharge the EV battery during the rental. Higher crash repair costs of EVs is another issue that must be fully understood.
* Oil pump recall: Ford is recalling nearly 140,000 EcoSport SUVs from the 2018–2022 model years and Focus sedans and hatchbacks from the 2016–2018 model years to fix a problem that could cause the engine and power brakes to fail while driving. The recalled vehicles all have a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine and an automatic transmission. The vehicles included in the campaign were built with an engine oil pump drive belt tensioner arm that can break and damage the engine.
Stay safe. Be Well.
