Sales of new vehicles remained steady in May. But despite conventional wisdom that the battery-electric market is dying, buyers showed renewed interest in electrified models, including EVs and hybrids. Headlight.News has more.
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Dogfight Coming in the Midsize Truck Market
Once given up for dead, the midsize pickup segment is booming — but faces a real battle as more players get set to enter the game. Get the story at Headlight.News.
Review: 2027 Kia Seltos is a Little Wonder
Since its rolled into the market in 2019, the Kia Seltos has become one of the Korean carmaker’s major product lines. But, in a highly competitive segment, it needed some major updates to keep momentum building. As Headlight.News discovered during a drive adventure in South Korea, the second-generation 2027 Kia Seltos comes through. Here’s our review.
No Longer Locked in the Bargain Basement, the New Seltos Shows Why Kia is a Brand to Reckon With
It started out as a nearly invisible, “cheap and cheerful” brand. Today, Kia is one of the fastest-growing brands on the U.S. market and challenging not only competitors like Nissan but its own Korean sibling Hyundai. The redesigned 2027 Kia Seltos is a reason why.
Headlight News Podcast for the Week of 5-18-26
On the Headlight News podcast this week, we look the rise of hybrid sales and the moves by Honda and Mazda to meet demand. We also cover the looming shortage of base oils due to the conflict with Iran. Finally we review the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz SRT. Check out the podcast, give us some feedback.
Toyota Looking to Build New $2 Billion Assembly Plant in Texas
Call it a “whale” of a plan. Documents filed with Texas regulators show Toyota is ready to build a new, $2 billion assembly line alongside its existing truck factory in San Antonio. But the automaker is first seeking financial support from the state for what it has codenamed “Project Orca.” More from Headlight.News.
Hyundai’s Metaplant: Automation Station in the Age of AI
The city of Savannah is known for history — and, perhaps, ghosts — but low-slung, sleek industrial buildings that lay alongside a highway outside nearby Ellabell tell a more modern story. Those buildings make up Hyundai’s new Metaplant. The plant seems to represent the future of manufacturing — a future that’s even more automated than what we see now. Get the story at Headlight.News.
When Your EV Sounds Like a Race Car: Lexus TZ is Just the Latest to Add Performance “Exhaust” Notes
The new Lexus TZ draws power from a pair of electric motors and a 96 kWh battery pack. But slip behind the wheel and you might think there’s a V-10 under the hood. The new crossover is the latest EV to let motorists fire up the sounds of a high-performance internal combustion engine. More from Headlight.News.
Hybrid Sales Set Record, Propped Up Weakening U.S. Auto Market
Hybrid sales set a record in April, accounting for about one in seven new vehicles sold by U.S. dealers – in the process helping prop up an otherwise weakening overall market. By year-end that could reach one in five, and it’s not just fuel prices driving the surge in hybrid demand. Headlight.News has more.
A Week With: 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT AWD
A few years ago, Hyundai made waves with the debut of its car/truck, the Santa Cruz. It arrived with a natural rival, the Ford Maverick compact pickup. Fast forward to now, the Santa Cruz is on its way out — and that’s a damned shame. Find out why at Headlight.News.
April Brought Gloomy Auto Sales, as Well As Showers
Car sales headed downward in April as gloomy economic news spawned by rising oil prices and higher inflation took the edge off the excitement of the traditional spring buying season. More from Headlight.News.
Automakers Warn Tariffs May Force Them to Drop Entry Models
At a time when the typical buyer now spending around $50,000 to drive off the dealer lot, millions of American motorists are being forced out of the new vehicle market. Budget buyers could soon find their choices even more limited, however, depending upon negotiations to update the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Agreement. How that shakes out may lead a number of U.S. and foreign-owned automakers to drop their most affordable models.