Connect with us

Published

7 hours ago

on

Toyota-EV-sales-2024

Toyota maintained its title as the world’s top-selling automaker, with nearly 11 million vehicles sold in 2024. However, EV sales accounted for about 1% of Toyota’s global volume as it continued to lag the industry. With rivals like BYD and Hyundai closing in, how long can Toyota keep its spot at the top?

Toyota EV sales continued lagging in 2024 at only 1%

Toyota held onto the title for the fifth straight year after selling over 10.8 million vehicles in 2024. That includes its Daihatsu (compact cars), Hino (heavy-duty trucks and buses), and luxury Lexus brands.

Although it was enough to stay ahead of Volkswagen, which sold just over 9 million vehicles last year (-2.3% from 2023), Toyota’s global sales slipped for the first time in two years. The Japanese auto giant’s sales fell 3.7% from the roughly 11.2 million vehicles sold in 2023.

Toyota and Lexus brand sales were down 1.4% from 2023, at about 10.1 million units, also the first year-over-year decline in two years.

The lower total was mostly due to a 20% drop in domestic sales. Incorrect vehicle certifications caused Toyota to halt production of the popular Prius, Yaris Cross, and Corolla Fielder models.

Toyota-EV-sales-2024
2024 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD (Source: Toyota)

Overseas sales helped offset the fallout with higher demand in North America and India. In other key markets, like China (-6.9%), Indonesia (-9.5%), and Thailand (-17.1%), Toyota said “the shift to new energy vehicles” and an “intensifying price competition” caused the lower sales total.

Despite hybrids reaching a record 40% share in 2024, Toyota’s EV sales lagged the industry. Last year, Toyota, including Lexus, sold just 139,892 pure EV models, accounting for just 1.4% of sales.

Toyota-EV-sales-2024
2025 Lexus RZ 450e (Source: Lexus)

Volkswagen sold nearly 745,000 electric vehicles last year, or around 8% of sales, which is still on the lower end. And that’s down 3.4% from the 771,100 VW delivered in 2023.

While the two global auto leaders continue to lag in the shift to electric vehicles, others, such as BYD and Hyundai, are emerging as true global threats.

BYD-EV-sales-Toyota
BYD Atto 3 (left) and Dolphin (right) EVs in Japan (Source: BYD)

BYD outsold Nissan and Honda for the first time last year, with over 4.25 million passenger vehicles sold, up 41% from around 3 million in 2023. The Chinese EV leader surpassed Volkswagen in 2023 to become China’s largest car maker, and now it’s moving up the global ranks.

Hyundai Motor Group, the third top-selling automaker globally, sold over 7.2 million vehicles last year. Although sales were down 1% from 2023, Hyundai is closing the gap with Toyota and Volkswagen. The Hyundai and Kia brands both sold over 200,000 electric cars globally last year for an around.

Hyundai-Kia-electric-vehicles
Hyundai IONIQ 9 (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai and Kia are launching several new EVs in key segments that are expected to see significant demand, including the three-row IONIQ 9 and low-cost Kia EV3 and Hyundai Inster SUVs.

Electrek’s Take

With new threats emerging, how long will Toyota hold onto the global sales lead? BYD is aggressively expanding overseas this year, with electric cars rolling out across nearly every segment, including entry-level pickup trucks, smart SUVs, luxury models, and electric supercars.

BYD sold more EVs in Japan than Toyota last year, its home market, and 2024 was BYD’s first full sales year in the country.

Hyundai is also preparing for a big year in 2025 with the updated 2025 IONIQ 5, IONIQ 9, and Inster EV arriving. Kia expects sales growth this year with the low-cost EV3 rolling out globally. Later this year, it will unveil the EV4, its highly anticipated entry-level electric sedan.

Meanwhile, Toyota continues delaying new EV launches and other major projects. Its long-awaited ultra-efficient EVs, expected next year, will not arrive until at least mid-2027.

With the industry moving toward all-electric vehicles, how long can Toyota delay the inevitable? As EV technology advances, hybrids will only be in style for much longer.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Environment

A quarter of Tesla’s earnings were due to recongnizing a $600 million gain on Bitcoin

Published

3 hours ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

A quarter of Tesla's earnings were due to recongnizing a 0 million gain on Bitcoin

Roughly a quarter of Tesla’s earnings last quarter were due to recognizing a $600 million gain on Bitcoin. Tesla still came short of expectations.

Tesla and Bitcoin

Tesla is among the few large public companies that invested some of their cash into cryptocurrency.

Early in 2021, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Shortly after, the automaker started accepting the cryptocurrency as payment on new vehicles.

However, a few days later, Tesla took a step back with crypto by removing the Bitcoin payment option. The company noted concerns over the energy needs of the Bitcoin network:

Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.

This is a concern that many Tesla community members shared when Tesla first announced its Bitcoin investment, and many were angered by the fact that the company didn’t think about it in the first place.

At the time, Tesla noted that they were not selling their stake in Bitcoin and that they planned to resume taking Bitcoin payments once the network showed a higher mix of renewable energy.

Last year, Tesla made some moves that pointed to starting to take Bitcoin payments again, but it has yet to happen.

A year after the initial investment, Tesla’s Bitcoin holding increased to $2 billion, but the cryptocurrency lost a lot of its value in 2022 and the automaker’s position suffered – though the automaker also divested about 75% of its Bitcoin position during that time.

Tesla reported over $1.2 billion in proceeds from selling Bitcoins, but the automaker still sits on a good amount.

Tesla’s Bitcoin move in Q4 2024

Last quarter, Tesla moved its bitcoins around into new wallets, triggering a lot of speculation. We suspected that Tesla might be moving things around to comply with the latest crypto accounting regulations.

Sure enough, with the release of Tesla’s Q4 2024 earnings yesterday, the automaker confirmed that it moved the Bitcoin to comply with the adoption of ASU 2023-08.

The move enabled Tesla to record a $600 million mark-to-market gain, accounting for a significant part of its $2.3 billion net income in Q4, which was already down 70% year-over-year.

Tesla disclosed in a SEC filing today:

Other income (expense), net, changed favorably by $523 million in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to remeasurement of our bitcoin digital assets to fair value in 2024 (see above), partially offset by unfavorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on our intercompany balances.

If it wasn’t for Bitcoin, Tesla’s net income would be down 78% in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023.

If you remove regulatory credit, it would be down 86% and Tesla’s earnings would add up to barely more than $1 billion compared to its more than $1 trillion valuation.

Electrek’s Take

Bitcoin literally saved Tesla’s quarter. Unless there’s another major run-up in Bitcoin, that won’t happen again because Tesla has benefited from not measuring Bitcoin’s value for more than a year.

It was great timing for Tesla, but it won’t be able to save the company in Q1 2025, which is expected to be more challenging as it transitions its Model Y to the new version.

But based on the stock price today, it appears that Elon still has strong shareholders support as they still believe in his AI-related predictions.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Range Rover’s first EV now has 57,000 buyers on the waitlist

Published

4 hours ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

Range Rover's first EV now has 57,000 buyers on the waitlist

Range-Rover's-first-EV-waitlist

The wait is almost over. The Range Rover electric SUV will finally hit showrooms this year. As one of the most anticipated launches of 2025, Range Rover’s first EV already has 57,000 buyers on the waitlist. Here’s what you can expect from the luxury electric SUV.

Range Rover’s first EV secures 57,000 on the waitlist

After announcing third-quarter earnings this week, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said demand continues building for the Range Rover Electric SUV.

Ahead of its official debut later this year, JLR confirmed Range Rover’s first EV now has 57,000 clients on the waitlist. That’s up from around 48,000 in November.

With sales of Range Rover’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models surging 163% in Q3, JLR said more buyers are taking the steps toward electrification.

The company promises that the Range Rover Electric will be “the most capable luxury SUV” on the market. In November, we got our first look at the new model undisguised during extreme weather testing. JLR is putting it through “the most intensive testing any Range Rover vehicle has ever endured” ahead of its arrival.

Range-Rover's-first-EV-waitlist
Range Rover Electric SUV testing (Source: JLR)

According to Range Rover’s executive director of product engineering, Thomas Müller, the EV is already outperforming its iconic gas-powered models.

After driving the Range Rover Electric up 328 ft (100 meters) on fine sand, Müller said, “Range Rover Electric matches the performance of its ICE equivalents; in some instances, even surpassing them.”

Range-Rover-Sport-EV
Range Rover Electric prototype testing (Source: JLR)

Range Rover’s first EV will hit showrooms later this year. The brand claims its new in-house electric powertrain will enable Range Rover to “exceed its already renowned performance on low-grip surfaces, ensuring all-terrain, all-weather, and all-surface capability.”

Following the Range Rover Electric, a smaller Sport model will be introduced, which was caught at testing at Nurburgring (Check it out here). Next year, Range Rover will launch a mid-size electric SUV, likely the Velar.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Velotric Valentine’s sale offers $800 in e-bike savings from $999, EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max and RIVER 3 Plus flash sales, more

Published

5 hours ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

Velotric Valentine's sale offers 0 in e-bike savings from 9, EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max and RIVER 3 Plus flash sales, more

velotric discover 1 plus

We have a condensed selection of solid savings in today’s Green Deals, with Velotric’s Valentine’s Day sale taking the lead with up to $700 in initial e-bike price cuts, as well as an additional $100 taken off orders of any two models. It’s the perfect chance to fall in love with the popular 2024 Discover 1 Plus e-bike while it’s down at $1,199, among others. There’s also a one-day-only flash sale running as part of EcoFlow’s ongoing Game Day Power sale, which provides up to $1,099 in savings on two power station bundles – one for the DELTA 2 Max and and an 800W alternator charger at $1,399, and the other for the RIVER 3 Plus with a 45W solar panel and a protective bag for $269. We also have the second-ever discount on Greenworks’ latest 60V 17-inch Cordless Electric Push Lawn Mower at $300. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals are in the links at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s $200 launch discount on Aiper’s new Surfer S2 Solar Pool Skimmer, Segway’s Valentine’s Day offers, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Fall in love with Velotric’s 2024 Discover 1 Plus e-bike at $1,199 during Valentine’s Day sale

Velotric wants to celebrate the love with its latest Valentine’s Day sale that is taking up to $700 off its e-bike lineup alongside 30% off accessories, as well as an additional $100 in savings on orders of any two models. One of the best options from under Velotric’s flag is the 2024 Discover 1 Plus e-bike that is down at $1,199 shipped. This model usually carries a $1,599 price tag most days, with sales often taking things down to $1,299, though we’ve seen it go as low as $1,099 occasionally in 2024 – most recently during Black Friday. This is a $400 markdown from its full price, which gives you the chance to hop aboard your own at the third-lowest price we have tracked – $100 above the Black Friday low.

Velotric’s updated 2024 Discover 1 Plus e-bike comes stocked with a 500W motor (peaking at 900W), a 692Wh battery, and five levels of PAS to support your commute up to 65 miles on a single charge at up to 28 MPH top speeds (after unlocking the capabilities above its standard 20 MPH speed). Of course, there is a throttle to go full electric when you want but keep in mind that this will reduce its travel distance. While it doesn’t have some of the fancier bells and whistles of the new Discover 2, like the upgraded parts, higher power ratings, and Apple Find My integration, this predecessor does offer some solid features, especially when considering the affordable price.

Velotric’s 2024 Discover 1 Plus e-bike sports other features like the Shimano 7-speed derailleur, an integrated 60 lux LED headlight, a taillight with braking functionality, double hydraulic disc brakes, larger 26-inch puncture-resistant tires, an increased IPX7 waterproof rating, fenders above both tires, and a 3.5-inch LCD display. There’s a USB-A port on the display to charge your phone as you ride, and it even has a walk assist mode for when you are forced to stop your ride to get it up extreme inclines.

Velotric’s other Valentine’s Day sale offers:

  • Fold 1 Lite e-bike: $999 (Reg. $1,099)
    • 28 MPH for up to 48 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Go 1 Utility e-bike: $999 (Reg. $1,699)
    • 25 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Fold 1 Step-Thru e-bike: $1,199 (Reg. $1,399)
    • 28 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • T1 ST Plus Lightweight e-bike: $1,299 (Reg. $1,549)
    • 28 MPH for up to 70 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Nomad 1 Plus Step-Thru e-bike: $1,399 (Reg. $1,799)
    • 28 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Packer 1 Cargo e-bike: $1,699 (Reg. $2,199)
    • 25 MPH for up to 52 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Discover 2 e-bike: $1,799 (Reg. $1,899)
    • 28 MPH for up to 75 miles
  • Summit 1 e-bike: $1,899 ($1,999)
    • 28 MPH for up to 70 miles
EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station

EcoFlow flash sale takes up to $1,099 off on-the-go DELTA 2 Max and RIVER 3 Plus power station bundles from $269

As part of its ongoing Game Day Power sale, EcoFlow is offering flash savings for the rest of the day on two power station bundles, with the first being the brand’s DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station that comes with an 800W alternator charger for $1,399 shipped. Sadly the sale’s sitewide 5% off coupon doesn’t apply to flash sale offers. This package would normally cost you $2,498 in full, with costs dropping lowest back in October when a similar flash sale dropped things to $1,299. Today you can score it at the second-lowest price we have tracked, saving you $1,099 in the process – but it only lasts until tonight so don’t dawdle. This deal is also matching over at Amazon, as well.

A nice middle-ground option for folks needing a backup power solution for trips out of the house while also wanting a reliable means for some home backup in cases of emergency, EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 Max delivers a 2,048Wh LiFePO4 capacity that you can expand further to 6,144Wh with the addition of expansion batteries. Its 2,400W power output (surging to 4,800W) should handle most of your appliance needs through its 15 port options, though you can always activate its X-Boost mode to bump that to 3,400W output for larger ones. It allows for two solar inputs to be hooked up to reach a maximum of 1,000W for recharging, or you can take advantage of its dual-charging capabilities using solar alongside a standard wall outlet for 80% battery in 43 minutes, among the other options. The alternator charger is rated for 1kWh per every 1.3 hours of driving while the station is hooked up to your car – so you can regain a full battery in around 2.6+ hours of travel.

The second offer during this flash sale is the smaller, more personal RIVER 3 Plus Portable Power Station bundled with a 45W solar panel and a protective bag for $269 shipped. It provides a more compact 286Wh LiFePO4 capacity that dishes up to 600W of output power (surging to 1,200W) through its seven port options. Like the above model, there are some extra battery options that can expand the station’s battery capacity to a maximum of 858Wh. Equipped with the brand’s X-Boost and X-Stream tech, you’ll get a full battery from a wall outlet in just one hour, while connecting its maximum 220W solar input gives you the same in 1.5 hours.

Be sure to browse EcoFlow’s full Game Day Power sale while it continues through February 5, with up to $2,999 in initial discounts, 3x EcoCredits on select offers, a 15% accessory discount, and 5% off sitewide savings through the sale’s promo code.

Greenworks 60V 17-inch Cordless Electric Push Lawn Mower

Greenworks’ latest 60V 17-inch cordless electric push lawn mower returns to its $300 low in second-ever discount

Amazon is offering the second-ever chance to save on Greenworks’ new 60V 17-inch Cordless Electric Push Lawn Mower for $299.99 shipped, after clipping the on-page $100 off coupon. This new model of the brand’s affordable mowers starts things at a $400 full price, with only one previous discount on the books, which first brought things to the $300 low a few weeks ago. That same deal is returning today, slashing $100 off the tag and returning the costs to the lowest price we have tracked.

Alongside some of the brand’s pricier mowers, like the CrossoverZ riding model, for example, Greenworks also puts out some solid budget-friendly options for folks. This new 60V push mower is one such option, with the included 4.0Ah battery providing it with a 40-minute runtime for smaller yards (though if you own other batteries, you can certainly cover more ground). The 17-inch lightweight deck comes rust-resistant and lightweight for more effortless maneuverability and control. Equipped with a brushless motor, it features a six-position cutting height adjustment from 1.5 to 3.15 inches while also offering rear bagging and mulching functionality.

Best New Year EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending