VW's 2023: The German automaker is sitting on top of a nice year of growth.
VW vs. Tesla: The company wants to maintain its European position as other brands enter the market. Namely, they are cutting prices on their ID electric car line in France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and other countries to stay competitive with Tesla.
Relief is on the way for Dealers and Consumers alike. New Car supply is returning to normal, and the used car market is following suit. Cox Automotive forecasts a 0.5% price increase from December 2023, which it says will lead to an uptick in used sales, with an expected 36.2M in 2024.
This slight increase follows a 7% reduction in prices over 2023 and a 15% drop as compared to 2022. So, prices have lost some of the inflation they packed on during the pandemic, but a return to stability is closer each day.
While many automakers are dipping their toes in the pool of hydrogen power, Hyundai just announced at CES it will be diving in headfirst moving forward.
High-Tech Trash Power? The software-defined strategy will use Waste-to-Hydrogen and Plastic-to-Hydrogen processes to innovate the production of its fuel cell-based power.
So far, options for such tech are limited as most hydrogen fuel cell stations are in California. With a carbon-neutral goal of 2050, we imagine they have time to implement infrastructure to meet market demand for this alternative power source.
Honda and Sony are collaborating on a mobility project, and finally, at CES, we saw a bit more of it.
The Afeela is an EV that does a good job representing the automaker/tech giant collaboration.
Specs. In terms of design and tech, it's pretty well decked out. Under the "hood," it has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system and a 91-kWh battery that can use 150 kW DC charging.
The weird part. You knew there would be a weird part. At the CES reveal, President and COO of Sony Honda Mobility, Izumi Kawanishi, used a Sony Playstation 5 controller to drive the car across the stage. Kids are about to be much better at driving.
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Reports from 2023 are promising, but along with increased sales figures is an increase in the attention media, culture, and people are paying to electrification. Some with hesitant apprehension, others with excited anticipation. It’s undeniable electric cars, hydrogen cars, hybrids, and software will continue to be a larger part of the conversation as time passes.
The best time to own part of this conversation as well-informed, community-minded, and locally-invested voices is each day.