While EV sales growth has slowed down this past year, demand was still up by about 10% in 2024. And the numbers would have been even bigger were it not for Tesla. While still the market leader, it suffered a first-ever annual sales decline last year. A variety of factors were at play, including CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly polarizing politics. More from Headlight.News.
Oh, what a year it was. 2024 took saw a number of predictable stories top our coverage on Headlight.News, but the year also saw some surprising twists and turns — like the planned merger between Honda and Nissan – that no one likely would, or could, have predicted 12 months ago. There was some good news for consumers, and some bad. Some automakers made out like bandits, while others are now struggling with an uncertain future. Here are the 2024 stories that our editorial team found most compelling.
Americans have been paying less and less at the pump since gas reached $5 a gallon during the tail-end of the pandemic in 2022. While the national average isn’t quite what it was prior to 2020, it has declined each of the last three years. Will it drop below $3 a gallon in 2025? Find out at Headlight.News.
He may have had just one term in the White House but it came at a critical time for the nation, as a whole, and for the auto industry, in particular. Former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 100 oversaw changes to automotive safety and emissions regulations. He was also in the Oval Office at a time of a major oil embargo, an assault by automotive imports and a time of reckoning for Detroit’s automakers – including the near collapse of Chrysler Corp.
Ashes to ashes, dust to rust. The life of an automobile is fairly limited. And the same can be said for automotive nameplates. With only the rarest exceptions, even the most popular badges have finite lives, as the Ford Model Y and Volkswagen Beetle proved. With the arrival of the 2025 model year there are still more nameplates set to drive off into the sunset, the Chevrolet Malibu being just one of the best-known examples. Here’s a look at some other product lines we won’t see going forward.
December has become one of the biggest car buying months of the year and this December should be something to remember. Sales are looking very healthy as carmakers spend lavishly on product promotions, interest rates dip and higher tariffs – and prices – appear on the horizon.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but he has a bright red beard, rather than a snowy white one, and he began his annual trip a bit early this year, with a coterie of automotive journalists substituting for the usual elves, set to deliver 23 beagles rather than toys. I was one of those who made this year’s journey…and like the rest of my colleagues, it made for a unique and heartwarming holiday adventure.
True believers will tell you resurrections are quite inspirational. Perhaps it is with this in mind that the first version of the Fiat 500 to return to the U.S. marketplace after a five-year hiatus would be the 2024 Fiat 500e Inspi(RED). Check out our review at Headlight.News.
A conversation on the future of Lamborghini in the face of electrification and troubles at parent company Volkswagen Group with the sports car brand’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
Honda and Nissan will merge under a new holding company, the automaker’s announced, confirming months of rumors, with the smaller of the Japanese automakers effectively taking control of the new alliance. Mitsubishi, which was rescued by Nissan in 2016, has yet to decide whether to become part of the alliance. And Renault, which bailed out Nissan in 1999, plans to determine what role it may have going forward.
There’s been a lot of focus on building up the public EV charging network but the vast majority of owners routinely charge at home. Toyota is helping secure $28 million in funding for startup WeaveGrid in a bid to make home charging easier and more affordable – while also ensuring that the nation’s electrical infrastructure can handle the addition of millions of battery-powered vehicles.
Tesla announced plans to recall nearly 700,000 vehicles due to a problem with the tire pressure monitoring system in those vehicles. The warning light may not remain lit during the entirety of the problem. Find out more at Headlight.News.