Why Toyota Could Be Sitting Pretty In Europe While Others Struggle

Thanks to new European carbon dioxide emissions rules, all but two automakers have a bit of a problem — they reportedly aren’t on target to meet 2025 emissions standards. While using a carrot-and-stick approach may be a short-term solution, it wouldn’t work forever. To fill that missing middle, there’s a good chance automakers will have to build a hell of a lot more hybrids, which leaves Toyota in a pretty good place.

In addition, impact from that rail lockout from yesterday has likely been averted due to government action, and while that should keep the car supply from Canada flowing, it’s likely not a great thing for affected workers. Oh, and Hyundai’s found a way to make defrosters invisible, which is pretty damn cool.

Thank goodness it’s Friday, am I right? I’ve got one more edition of The Morning Dump to work out before Matt gets back on Tuesday, but until then, let’s get cracking with a run-down of juicy car news tidbits all neatly packaged together.

Could Hybrids Be The Solution To European CO2 Rules?

If you already thought combustion-powered cars were getting expensive in Europe, there’s a chance we haven’t seen anything yet. See, Automotive News Europe reports that automakers are struggling to meet 2025 carbon dioxide targets amid reports of slowing EV demand, which could lead to some hefty fines. When confronted with a problem like this, the solution is often carrot-and-stick, but hybrids could prove valuable. From Automotive News Europe:

The 2025 fleet average for new cars sold in the EU will be 93.6 grams of CO2 per km, compared with the 116 g/km limit that went into effect in 2021.

Each automaker has its own target based on average mass of its fleet, which means that brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW that sell large SUVs have higher targets than brands that sell mostly smaller cars with smaller engines and lower CO2 emissions, such as Dacia or Citroen.

The EU will fine brands that miss their goal €95 per car per gram over the target. Automakers paid a total of €550 million for missing the 2021 targets, although nearly all brands achieved their goals on time, Dataforce said.

Of the major automotive groups in Europe, only Geely and Tesla are already below their 2025 targets. Tesla has no problem meeting its target because it sells only zero-emission full-electric cars while Geely is helped by its Volvo brand, which sells high numbers of full-electric models.

If only two brands continue to remain on-target, how will other brands strategically reduce combustion vehicle sales in order to keep these fines to a minimum? Well, without launching new product, reduced supply and higher prices of combustion-powered vehicles could be a short-term Band-Aid. As Dataforce analyst Benjamin Kibies noted, “Car buyers must prepare for price hikes on petrol and diesel cars, while BEVs will become more affordable with the introduction of new models.”

It’s a solution, but without further product action to fill the missing middle, it could come at a cost. See, while a greater number of EVs is good for the climate, a short-term reduction in the number of affordable combustion-powered cars may have social costs, as higher new prices bump up used prices, and buyers may be priced out of the late-model market.

In addition, while Europeans may drive shorter distances than Americans, battery electric vehicles aren’t always practical for those who can’t charge at home or at their office. The ideal solution includes a mix of hybrids that would lower the number of full BEVs necessary to meet targets while still giving consumers choice. Maybe Toyota’s onto something because outside of Tesla and Geely, it’s closest to meeting 2025 EU targets thanks to a range chock-full of hybrids.

Hyundai’s Got Some Cool New Glass

Alright, so reinventing the wheel may be a fool’s errand, but Hyundai has found a way of re-inventing the defroster and it looks pretty neat. By using a metal coating on the glass, Hyundai’s made the defroster elements invisible, but the tech is so much cooler than that. Not only does it keep the cabin cool by blocking some of the sun’s rays, it also runs off of 48-volt power for ludicrously fast defrosting times.

The 48V system can completely defrost the glass surface within five minutes at -18°C, up to four times faster and consuming around 10 percent less energy compared with conventional air-conditioning systems. Additionally, on hot days, the metal coating can passively block at least 60 percent of solar energy, reducing cabin cooling requirement to significantly improve energy efficiency.

I don’t know about you, but this all seems like a big win to me. Of course, we still don’t know the cost of such a system, but as battery electric vehicles continue to gain market prominence, solving the drain of climate control on high-voltage systems will become ever more important, so don’t be surprised if this tech makes production. Hyundai’s also been working on radiant floor heating and a nano-coated film that functions a bit like transparent window tint to reduce cabin temperatures on hot days, so don’t expect this new sort of defroster to be the only thing in the automaker’s arsenal.

[Ed Note: I recently drove an older (~2006) Range Rover, and noticed little wavy things in the windshield; turns out, it was a heated windscreen! -DT].

Alpine Locks In A Second Driver

With Esteban Ocon off to Haas for 2025, Alpine has been looking for a second Formula 1 driver, and it’s appointed reserve driver Jack Doohan as a driver alongside Pierre Gasly for the next F1 season. The 21-year-old Australian might not be a household name just yet, but not only is motorsports in his blood, he also has some impressive achievements that make him a promising candidate for the FIA’s top level of racing.

Doohan got his start in racing with an assist from Michael Schumacher, who gifted him a kart back in 2012. It only took a few more years before he was a back-to-back Australian karting champion, who then took to Europe and finished third in the 2017 CIK-FIA European Karting Championship. From there, he finished fifth in the 2018 F4 British Championship, second in the 2019 and 2020 F3 Asian Championships, and although the 2020 FIA Formula 3 season was rough, Doohan finished second in the 2021 Formula 3 Championship, which is incredibly impressive when you consider Doohan was also competing in Formula 2 that year.

Having been picked up as a reserve driver for Alpine in 2022, he achieved a third-place finish in the 2023 Formula 2 season, so it certainly seems like he has what it takes to score Alpine some points, so long as they don’t have a dog’s dinner of a car. It’s also pretty neat that Jack Doohan is the son of five-time 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix world champion Mick Doohan. Sometimes racing runs in a person’s blood.

Crisis Averted

Remember how yesterday, it was reported that Canadian rail workers were locked out, which could’ve caused a new car shortage if it were to drag on? Unsurprisingly, in big disputes like this, you can often count on government intervention. As reported by Automotive News, the Canadian federal government is forcing the rail workers and railways to sort at least some of their shit out before being forced back to work.

Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon is stepping in to get trains moving again after an unprecedented lockout by the country’s two largest rail companies.

He will use his powers under Section 107 of the nation’s Labor Code to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final, binding arbitration.

To Canadians, this news will likely prompt a bit of eye-rolling before moving on. To Americans, section 107 of Canada’s Labour Code is likely unfamiliar, so let me break it down. It allows the Labour Minister, which is a bit like Canada’s equivalent of the Secretary of Labor, to “do such things as to the Minister seem likely to maintain or secure industrial peace and to promote conditions favourable to the settlement of industrial disputes or differences” if they’re deemed necessary. In this case, not having major corridors of commerce flowing may affect the peace of a population stretched thin by wage stagnation and an extreme housing bubble, so yeah, that’s the way it goes. Car shortage maybe averted, but potentially in a way that’s detrimental to the rail workers actually affected by the initial action.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

A lot of good rap songs about cars exist, but man, Curren$y gets it. With project titles like “The Owners Manual” and “Gran Turismo,” great automotive bars, his own R/C hobby shop, a killer car collection including a bunch of Sacco-era Benzes with AMG bits, a Pace Car C5 Corvette, an Impala SS, lowrider builds, a nigh-on perfect fourth-gen Camaro, he might be the biggest car guy in the game. Want a great place to start listening to his discography? Here’s “Showroom” off of his 2012 album “The Stoned Immaculate.” With bars like “Up-to-date bill sheets, documented mileage / Handbook in the console I know everything about it,” it’s almost impossible not to give this track a big “hell yeah.”

The Big Question

Everyone needs an exit song, so what are you planning on bumping in the whip as you roll out of work for the week?

(Photo credits: Toyota, Hyundai, Alpine, Honda)