Here’s a wild stat to start out the day: There are 41 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models on sale in the United States. You know how many regular hybrid (HEV) models there are? Just 39. And, yet, HEVs are dramatically outselling PHEVs, as are electric cars. What’s the deal?
Not to get full-on Seinfeldian, but what’s the deal with Jaguar? They’re supposed to be going all-in on electric cars and are basically no longer making anything until that transition happens. And, have you ever noticed that Stellantis is in trouble with everyone? There’s something going on there, though dealers are now starting to like what they hear.
That’s one group that’s feeling better about the company, but even President Biden’s Press Secretary is chiming in on the promises Stellantis is making. GET OUT!
The Biggest Reason Why PHEVs Are Not Working Out
I like PHEVs. I think they’re a totally reasonable solution and a good transition technology. Unfortunately, PHEVs in the United States are not good enough. We’ve covered this before, but the ranges of most PHEVs in the United States are too low.
Here’s a list of vehicles and ranges:
- Jeep Wrangler 4xe: 22 miles
- Ford Escape plug-in: 37 miles
- Chrysler Pacifica PHEV: 32 miles
- Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe: 26 miles
- Hyundai Tucson PHEV: 33 miles
- Hyundai Santa Fe PHEV: 31 miles
- BMW X5 xDrive45e: 31 miles
- BMW 330e: 23 miles
- Toyota Prius Prime: 44 miles
- Lexus RX450H+: 37 miles
The big Lexus and Toyota Prius Prime are, maybe, good enough. The Volvo S60 Recharge is also ok at 41 miles. Anything significantly under 40 miles isn’t great, as it’s barely enough to go to work and back.
Because of the development time involved in making a car, a new car you see on the road now was likely first planned at least three years ago and probably more like four or five. This means most of the PHEVs out today were conceived back when automakers assumed: a higher take-rate for EVs than we’ve had; the old version of tax credits; charging infrastructure was bad; and BEVs are very expensive.
With the exception of the infrastructure assumption, almost every forecast has been wrong in some way. EV adoption has lagged, new tax credits currently work against buying most PHEVs, and many new EVs are expensive but the best EVs remain reasonably cheap.
In fact, a new study from JD Power shows that PHEVs are now way more expensive than HEVs and BEVs:
PHEVs are significantly more expensive to purchase than BEVs or HEVs. The average customer-facing transaction price (CFTP),for a PHEV in the compact SUV category is $48,700. That compares with an average CFTP of $37,700 for a HEV and $36,900 for a BEV in the compact SUV category.
This is actually the first study I’ve seen that shows BEVs are lower in price than hybrids, which I think reflects the model mix (hybrid trucks, Toyotas that rarely get discounted) and the fact that the Tesla-led price war and tax credits have driven BEV prices down a lot. I reached out to JD Power to find out if this includes leases, which would definitely pull the BEV number down.
Understandably, expensive PHEVs with a limited range aren’t exactly popular with customers. From the same study:
Overall customer satisfaction with PHEVs has been significantly lower than BEVs. Overall satisfaction with PHEVs is 669 (on a 1,000-point scale), while mass market BEVs (716) and premium BEVs (738) score significantly higher.
Not great! This might explain why the graphic above shows that there are now 60 BEVs, 41 PHEVs, and 39 HEVs on sale currently and, yet, HEVs are the most popular non-ICE vehicle followed by BEVs and PHEVs.
It doesn’t have to be this way! In China, there are PHEVs with real range (like the nearly 100-mile Chevy Equniox PHEV) and, even better, Range-Extended Electric Vehicles (REVs) that are EVs first and have a small gasoline generator, a la the i3, to provide more range in a pinch. The closest we’re getting is the Ram Ramcharger, which is a potentially game-changing product.
PHEVs are still a good idea, but the fact that there are 41 models on sale and they only cover 1.9% of the market means that all that product investment went to a tiny market that everyone is fighting over.
Jaguar Gets A New Strategist
The wild thing about Jaguar is that the entire company has paused production for a number of months as it makes the switch to an all-EV future. It’s just not making cars. Jaguar dealers have a ton of inventory, of course, so this doesn’t seem to be an issue right now.
With most automakers walking back their plans for complete electrification, I’m curious to see if this plan holds. Jaguar has the one advantage of being connected to Land Rover, which isn’t going full EV quite as soon.
All this talk about stopping production to assume that Jaguar was being killed off, a rumor that seems even more illogical in light of the news that Jaguar is mixing up its C-Suite with a heavy hitter according to Automotive News:
The automaker has hired Swarna Ramanathan as chief strategy officer from consultants McKinsey, where she was a leader in the company’s automotive and assembly division. Prior to that she worked at General Motors as an engineer.
Ramanathan takes over from Andrea Debbane, who did the job on an interim basis. Debbane gives up responsibility for strategy and continues in her role as JLR’s chief sustainability officer.
Both report to CEO Adrian Mardell.
There are a bunch of other people who swapped jobs, too, but I just want to reiterate that Jaguar isn’t going anywhere. It’s possible the EV sedan they’re going to show later this year is going to suck and they’ll be going in the wrong direction, but that’s still going somewhere.
Stellantis Makes Dealers Feel Better
The vibes at Stellantis have been bad, with everyone getting mad at the company. Suppliers, governments, workers, customers, and dealers have all been more than a little ticked off. The company badly needs to sell more cars in North America, so its first move seems to be an attempt to placate the same dealers who called the company a “disaster” in an open letter earlier this year.
So far, the application seems to be working.
“They’re coming ready to work with us, and not the previous approach, which was, ‘Figure out a way to get it done,'” Farrish, a Virginia dealer, said Wednesday.
The dealer-company gathering, which occurs every few months, centered on Stellantis’ Auburn Hills headquarters on Tuesday and involved 21 dealer council members and key executives like newly-appointed North America leader Antonio Filosa, who also heads the Jeep brand.
What does working with dealers look like? According to the report, that means putting dealer profitability front and center, trying to better understand North American consumer preferences, giving out better incentives, and killing the unpopular program that tied incentives to ordering more cars.
Well, that should just about solve it.
Everyone Else Is Still Kinda Mad At Stellantis
In full fairness to Stellantis, if it was my call I would also try to make the dealers happy first. There’s no use designing cars, making cars, or getting government incentives for cars if your front line isn’t on board. It’s full triage mode at Stellantis.
The workers are mad because they think part of the Stellantis triage plan involves cutting them out of agreements they’ve already made. The current White House doesn’t love this.
On Wednesday, Jean-Pierre said the administration applauded the UAW and Stellantis “for coming together after hard, good faith … negotiations, and also reaching a historic agreement that secured record raises, greater retirement security and investment in the future.” She noted that the agreement included “a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures.”
“What we want to see is Stellantis certainly deliver on those commitments to the UAW and to the communities that have long supported the industry. That’s what we want to see, and so we want Stellantis to keep their commitment,” she said.
That seems like a nice way of saying “There’s no way we have your back” to Stellantis if it tries to walk away from its plans.
Site Update
Is the site time-outing for you? We’re still having issues. Our apologies.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
After yesterday’s inclusion of Jeff Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah” someone in the Discord (shout out Funkthulu) mentioned that a true artist created a version where it’s the tune matched to the lyrics of “Baby Got Back” by Sir-Mix-A-Lot and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t kinda work. Even though “Hallelujah” has become a song meant to convey peace, it’s really still just a song about humping.
The Big Question
How many miles should a PHEV have? Should we just ditch PHEVs for REVs?
I’ve been driving just BEVs for years now, including a used Bolt that got a new battery, due to that recall (any 2017 – 2021 model has a still very “new-ish” battery for that reason — and can sometimes be found for around $10k *before* rebate!). I don’t know why people are so impressed with hybrids on this site. They still need oil and gas and in addition to smog checks. They have the complexity of two drive-trains.
Bubble butts? Hallelujah!