Why Hybrid Vehicles Are Winning Over Consumers and Rewriting the EV Transition

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

For more on what we should be watching in the autospace, let's welcome in Brian Moody, auto expert and Capital One Auto Navigator. Brian, great to have you back on. Now we were able to talk a couple weeks ago about the EV race and globally and taking a closer look at hybrids and Nissan. And so I wanted to talk with you again, more specifically focusing on hybrids this time. We've seen this shift that I just highlighted in some of the data towards this move towards hybrid in the US market.

What do you view as being the primary driver towards hybrids? Is it pricing, fuel economy, convenience? It's less of an impediment than going fully electric, the lack of credits for EVs? What's the real driver here?

Brian Moody (0:47)

Well, the real driver is basically all of the things that you just said. And so the good news for that is that it's a market driven trend. Whenever we see market driven trends, that usually results in consumers getting a better thing. And when they get a better thing, then the companies that provide that can make better profits. So the answer is all of those things, people don't want to spend a bunch of money for gasoline. They want to save there, but they also don't want to spend 50, 60, $70,000 for a new car. So there's definitely a new car price crisis. There's not enough low price cars. I think some of the new cafe standards that have changed will help that. But also hybrids will help that. And specifically, we see innovation like you mentioned, even with Nissan, it's not just a hybrid. There's innovation within the hybrid space. So all of those things together, I think are going to conspire to reward some companies, and at the same time, help consumers meet some of their difficult financial demands.

SPEAKER_1 (1:47)

And we're going to dive in specifically to who the winners might be in some of this individualized tech in a second. But I want to stay broadly with hybrids for a moment, because I think when people think about hybrids, Brian, or at least when they were first released, it was sort of this bridge between having a gas-powered vehicle and going fully EV. It was your one step toward that process. Is it still a bridge, or is it its own stand-alone destination now?

Brian Moody (2:13)

I think it might be its own stand-alone destination now. And like you said, many things have changed about hybrids in the years.

As you mentioned, they've been around for a while, and the introduction to most people was, it was a small dorky hatchback. Well, a lot of people didn't want that. Now, there's such a variety of vehicles that come as hybrid. So I think that having it be a variety of technologies, a variety of vehicles and a variety of brands, all helps hybrids achieve what they want to achieve. Cleaner air, lower consumption and lower costs. I think all of those things lead people to say, well, I'm not just getting a hybrid on the road towards something else. A hybrid is where I want to be. That works for me and my life and it uses the existing infrastructure.

SPEAKER_1 (3:02)

And you mentioned that hybrid hatchback and of course, you're referencing Toyota there. Everybody knows the Prius. They still control roughly half of the US hybrid market. What have they figured out about hybrids that the other automakers are now trying to replicate?

Brian Moody (3:21)

Boy, I'll tell you, hybrids and Toyota, it's like you said, we all think of them as synonymous.

And the thing they did that I think many automakers and many companies in general can learn a lot from is you stick to your guns. You don't go based on ideologies. You don't go based on maybe you stick to what you know is true, what you do well and what the market tells you people want. And that's what they did. Remember, they got a lot of flak for saying, well, why don't you have more of this or why don't you have more of that? They stuck to their guns. They said hybrid is where we want to be, and they are being rewarded handsomely for that.

SPEAKER_1 (3:59)

Now, I have driven a Prius, but I have not driven one of the Nissan e-power vehicles. And I know this is their different approach they're taking. They're completely different kind of technology. So Brian, as the expert here, take me through what the differences between driving a series hybrid versus a traditional hybrid. I think many people have had a Prius even as a rental car.

Brian Moody (4:22)