Toyota Bet Wrong on EVs, so Now It’s Lobbying to Slow the Transition
For years, Toyota was a leader in eco-friendly vehicles. Its efficient cars and crossovers offset emissions from its larger trucks and SUVs, giving the company a fuel-efficiency edge over some of its competition. By May 2012, Toyota had sold 4 million vehicles in the Prius family worldwide.
The next month, Tesla introduced the Model S, which dethroned Toyota's hybrid as the leader in green transportation. While Toyota invested in Tesla, it saw the startup not as a threat but rather a bit player that could help Toyota meet its EV mandates.
In tethering itself to hybrids and betting its future on hydrogen, Toyota now finds itself in an uncomfortable position. Governments around the world are moving to ban fossil-fuel vehicles of any kind, and they're doing so far sooner than Toyota anticipated. With EV prices dropping and charging infrastructure expanding, fuel-cell vehicles are unlikely to be ready in time. In a bid to protect its investments,
Read the article at Ars Technica.
The High Prices of Used Cars May Finally be Dropping
The average transaction price for a used car was $25,410 in the second quarter of 2021, up from $22,977 in the first quarter and 21% year-over-year, according to data from online automotive resource Edmunds. That figure marks the highest average price over a quarter for a used car that Edmunds has ever tracked.
Several automakers, including General Motors and Ford, have cut new vehicle production due to semiconductor chip shortages, putting further constraints on inventory and driving up prices. The boosted value of trade-in opportunities will likely prompt new car buyers to offer their current vehicle up to dealerships and retailers. The average trade-in value of a used vehicle in June was $21,224, up 75.6% year-over-year, according to Edmunds.
While Jeff Dyke, president of Sonic Automotive, said he does expect the chip shortage to “alleviate here in the coming months,” the tight car supply has been beneficial to companies like Sonic Automotive that sell used cars. However, Dyke says there are signs that the market is leveling off, with prices dropping by as much as $2,000 for a used car over the course of July as the supply of new cars is starting to increase.
Read the article at CNBC.
Van Conversion Businesses Can’t Keep Up With #vanlife Demand
The #vanlife movement was already in full swing before the pandemic, fueled by envy-inducing posts on Instagram and DIY van conversion videos on YouTube.
A typical van conversion starts starts by gutting a utility van before replacing the interior with the makings of a mobile home: loft beds, mini sinks, toilets, refrigerators and built-in seating. For Cascade Vans, one of the worst shortages has been windows, which are three months to eight months back ordered, Alexa Owens, co-founder of Cascade Custom Vans in Bend, Oregon said. Cascade anticipates at least another year of supply shortages while vendors play catch-up.
Read the article at CNN Business.
Eguide: Navigate Your Transition to EVs
With increasing concerns over environmental impacts and rising gasoline prices, electric vehicles (EVs) are more popular than ever before. The U.S. vehicle landscape is approaching a tipping point making hybrids and EVs a viable choice.
Fleet managers will likely either be asked to shift the traditional gasoline-powered feet to one that is entirely electric, or will want to get ahead of the EV wave that is coming. But where and how can fleet managers get started? This eguide from Merchants Fleet describes the steps to EV adoption and how fleet managers can make the transition to innovative, efficient EV fleets.
NTEA Calls on Congress to Repeal the Federal Excise Tax
NTEA – The Association for the Work Truck Industry commends U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) for introducing S. 2435, the Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2021. This bipartisan bill would repeal the 12% Federal Excise Tax (FET) on heavy trucks and trailers.
Eliminating the FET would provide Congress the opportunity to create long-term stability in the Highway Trust Fund by replacing the FET with a funding source not based on annual truck sales.
“NTEA is a longstanding advocate of repealing the more than 100-year-old burdensome and complex tax, and is a founding member of the Modernize the Truck Fleet coalition,” said Steve Carey, NTEA’s president and CEO. “We believe repeal will help fleets to replace older and less fuel-efficient heavy-duty trucks with safer and more environmentally friendly new trucks.”
