Toyota releases pricing and official configurator for 2024 Land Cruiser, trail-ready reboot now starts at $57,445 and is banking heavily on strong accessories list to go along with its trail-ready credentials. Get the story at Headlight.News.
Toyota
Shell Shutting Down All its California Hydrogen Stations
The struggling market for fuel-cell vehicles was handed another setback as Shell announced that it was shutting down all seven of its hydrogen refueling stations open to retail customers in California. That might seem an irrelevant number were this to involve its gasoline service network. But it represents nearly one in six of the hydrogen facilities in California and about 12% of the 59 open to the public nationwide.
Rivian Announces March 7 Reveal for Lower-Priced R2 Line
Rivian plans to take a step closer to becoming a full-line automaker next month, the automaker confirming it will reveal its R2 line on March 7. Smaller than the existing R1T pickup and R1S SUV, the R2 models also will be more affordable, officials last year indicating they could start around $40,000. Get the details at Headlight.News.
Ford EV Owners Getting Free Tesla Supercharger Adapters
Ford was the first automaker to tie up with Tesla, announcing plans to switch to the NACS plug letting owners of products like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning use the big Tesla Supercharger network. Ford CEO Jim Farley on Wednesday announced “eligible” owners...
Soaring Fuel Prices Threaten Market for Hydrogen Vehicles
When Toyota introduced the Mirai fuel-cell vehicle three years ago the automaker tossed in an appealing incentive, $15,000 worth of the hydrogen needed to power it up. At the time, it cost just over $70 to fill Mira’s 5.6-kilogram tank. Today, you’ll pay over $200 – if you can find the lightweight gas, as many of the stations providing it have run dry. And that’s threatening to short-circuit the “hydrogen economy” that fuel-cell proponents have predicted is just around the corner.
EV Skeptic Akio Toyoda Sees Electric Vehicle Market Share Peaking at 30%
He’s warned that the switch to battery-electric vehicles could seriously harm the auto industry. And even though his successor as Toyota CEO has committed more resources to EVs, Akio Toyoda continues to see a future in which hybrids and other alternatives dominate the global market. More from Headlight.News.
A Week With: 2024 Toyota Prius: Winning Over the Skeptics
Since it made its debut a full quarter-century ago, there’ve certainly been reasons to praise the Toyota Prius for its fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain. But it hasn’t scored big in either the performance or fun-to-drive categories. Now, with the latest-generation hatchback, it’s an entirely new game. And it’s won over our reviewer.
Is the EV World’s Holy Grail — the Solid-State Battery — Just Vaporware?
With EVs mandated to reach 50% of new U.S. vehicle sales in 2030 — and to replace internal combustion models by 2035 in the EU — the search is on for the battery technology that can win over consumers with longer range, lower costs and quicker charging speeds. But solid-state, the technology expected to replace today’s lithium-ion batteries, is so far failing to live up to its hype.
Battery power dominates as Toyota Prius, Ford Super Duty and Kia EV9 Named North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year
A jury of 50 U.S. and Canadian journalists narrowed down an extensive field of new vehicles, with three models named the winners of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. At a ceremony in Detroit, the Toyota Prius was named Car of the Year, the Ford Super Duty taking top honors in the truck category. And the Kia EV9 was named Utility Vehicle of the year.
Jeep, Dodge, GMC, VW and Toyota All Increase Prices on 2024 Vehicles
After watching prices on new vehicles come down over the course of 2023, several brands rolled out price increases on their 2024 models. Jeep, Dodge, Toyota, Volkswagen and GMC all hiked prices from as little as $150 to more than $4,000 — although GMC did cut the price on one vehicle. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Tesla Sets Sales Record – But Still Misses its Target as BYD Closes the Gap
Tesla delivered 485,000 vehicles during the fourth quarter, bringing total sales for the year to 1.8 million, an all-time record. But the automaker fell short of the 2 million target CEO Elon Musk set early last year. And it has BYD, breathing down its neck, even though that major Chinese competitor has yet to enter the North American market.
Dozens More EVs Coming in 2025 and 2026
At least 40 new battery-electric vehicles are due to reach U.S. showrooms in 2024 — and that’s a conservative estimate as we’ve had a number of surprises dropped on us by both domestic and foreign-owned brands. If anything, the flood of EV offerings will likely accelerate going forward. Here’s a look at some of the models we’re expecting in 2025 and 2026. Headlight.News checks out 45 of them.