Report: Toyota, Honda losing to rivals that are ahead on EVs

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Toyota and Honda are losing loyal owners to rival brands further ahead in the electric vehicle transition, including Tesla, Ford, Hyundai and Chevrolet, according to a new report from S&P Global Mobility.

“Early S&P Global Mobility data suggests consumers moving to electric vehicles in 2022 are largely doing so from Toyota and Honda — brands which have been unable to keep their internal combustion owners loyal until their own brands begin to participate more significantly in the EV transition,” the data firm said Tuesday.

Sales of Toyota’s mass-market EV, the bZ4x crossover, were stopped for months shortly after its launch earlier this year due to a risk that its wheels could fall off. Honda discontinued its Clarity EV in 2020 after offering the sedan, with 89 miles of range, as lease-only in California and Oregon. Honda’s coming Prologue EV crossover is expected in 2024.

Executives have said they are accelerating EV projects after waiting for the market to mature, with Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda showcasing 16 future Lexus and Toyota battery electric vehicles nearly a year ago to prove the point.

EV share in the U.S. has more than doubled to 5.2 percent in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, S&P Global said, citing registration data.

— Laurence Iliff

What you need to know

BMW hatches an EV battery with 30 percent more range: The company’s next-generation lithium ion cell will power the automaker’s Neue Klasse electric vehicles.

Honda will get new hands-off features mid-decade: Honda Sensing 360 will be on all U.S. models by 2030.

Lordstown Motors starts deliveries of Endurance pickups: The electric vehicle startup can begin delivery of trucks to customers.

Roundup

GM’s Cruise plans to enter ‘a large number of markets‘ in 2023.

Doug Campbell, CEO of Ford-backed battery startup Solid Power, steps down.

Honda will build a fuel cell CR-V in Ohio.

VW-backed Northvolt may delay German battery plant for U.S. push.

Faraday Future replaces former BMW exec Carsten Breitfeld as CEO.

On the move

Kathy Winter, a senior executive who worked on autonomous vehicles at Intel and Delphi, will become the new COO at May Mobility. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based developer of AVs said Winter, 59, will focus on commercialization efforts and strategic partnerships with other companies to expand May Mobility’s global footprint.

Gilbert Passin has joined commercial EV startup Harbinger as the company’s chief production officer. Passin, a former Tesla vice president, led the launches of the Tesla Model S and the company’s Fremont factory, among others. He had previous vice president roles at General Motors and Toyota, Volvo Trucks and others. Passin arrives at Harbinger at a time the company expects to put its medium-duty EVs in customers’ hands by late 2023, with commercial production starting in 2024.

Brain food

The 22 states that comprise the U.S. ‘heartland’ lag in EV sales, but a slew of new electric models and a push to build more EV chargers is likely to spur greater adoption, according to a new report.

Last mile

Dutch startup Lightyear has started making the world’s first series-production electric vehicle that generates power directly from sunlight.