GM’s Only Answer To Toyota’s Seventeen Hybrids Is A $109K Corvette

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/mikecarscoops-com/                                    

A few years ago, automakers faced a tough choice. They could eschew hybrids and plug-in hybrids to go all-in on EVs, or adopt a more balanced, but expensive approach that saw them invest in multiple technologies.

A number of companies went the electric route and that ended up costing them greatly as adoption was slower than they anticipated. If that wasn’t bad enough, the United States eliminated the federal tax credit and governments rolled back overly ambitious green agendas.

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This has pushed automakers to cancel EVs and abandon plans to go electric-only. Companies have posted huge losses and now they’re suddenly playing catch-up with rivals that took a more nuanced approach.

Expensive Gas Is Going To Make Things Even Worse

Since some companies were betting on a quick transition to EVs, a number of them don’t have many hybrids or plug-in hybrids to offer customers. That’s bad news in an era where the national average price of a gallon of gasoline is above $4 and climbs to nearly $6 in some states.

The only hybrid GM has in America is the $108,600 Corvette E-Ray and that’s a huge problem. Consumers in the market for a compact crossover might look at an Equinox, which returns up to 26 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 27 mpg combined. That’s not terrible, but the Toyota RAV4 gets 47 mpg city, 40 mpg highway, and 43 mpg combined. This is a huge difference, especially in an era of sky high gas prices.

Hyundai and Kia also offer hybrid competitors in the form of the Tucson and Sportage. The former offers up to 38 mpg across the board, while the latter returns up to 41 mpg city, 44 mpg highway, and 42 mpg combined. It’s also worth noting all three competitors offer plug-in hybrid variants, while GM doesn’t offer a single one in the United States.

General Motors isn’t the only automaker that bet big on EVs and lived to regret it. Ford has a limited hybrid lineup that consists of the Maverick and F-150. The Escape, which offered hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, was recently killed off, while the Explorer Hybrid is limited to police and the Pope.

Hybrid Sales Are Skyrocketing

While the war in Iran is barely more than a month old, hybrid sales are booming. Kia recently revealed sales of hybrids soared 73% to set a new quarterly record.

Last month was also Hyundai’s best ever March for hybrid sales. The company noted hybrids saw a huge jump in the first quarter as the Elantra Hybrid was up 141%, while the Sonata Hybrid soared 107%. The Santa Fe Hybrid also got a 47% boost as consumers embraced efficiency.

While Toyota sales fell 6.9% in the first quarter, high gas prices could help to reverse that trend as the company offers a dizzying array of hybrids. Seventeen, to be exact, according to our last count. This includes the Camry, Corolla, Crown, Corolla Cross, and Prius, as well as the Crown Signia, Highlander, Grand Highlander, Land Cruiser, RAV4, 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and Sienna. Two of those, the Prius and RAV4, are also offered as plug-in hybrids.

That’s a huge lineup, especially compared to Ford, GM, and Stellantis. The latter recently killed off plug-in hybrids and only offers the new Cherokee Hybrid in America. However, range-extended variants of the Ram 1500 and Grand Wagoneer are coming.

While EVs do offer some cover to these companies during periods of high gas prices, consumers have been clear: most want hybrids, not fully electric vehicles.