Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Wednesday, Jan. 8.
For automakers looking to make strategic global decisions about technology, a new Deloitte survey signals that consumer viewpoints about electric vehicles, hybrids, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles are somewhat similar among the world's largest car markets.
As our Hannah Lutz reports today, most consumers across the globe said they believe AI in vehicle systems, such as voice-activated features and autonomous driving, will be beneficial, according to Deloitte's 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which surveyed more than 31,000 consumers from 30 countries last fall. But consumers also don't want the technology to go too far, and they don't trust the entities managing their connected vehicle data, the study said.
Further down in our report, we also see that drivers globally want hybrids more than ever. And the enthusiasm for full-electric vehicles continues to stagnate. Buyer intent to purchase a hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle increased 5 percentage points in the U.S. to 26 percent as consumers seek lower fueling costs without charging anxiety, Deloitte found. At least one-third of respondents in India, the U.K., Japan and South Korea said they intend to buy a hybrid, according to the study.
As for robotaxis, concerns persist. More than half of consumers in the U.S., the U.K. and India are concerned about fully autonomous robotaxi services operating where they live, according to the study. About 40 percent of respondents in Germany, Japan and China said they are concerned.
Speaking of EVs, the UAW today trumpeted its organizing efforts at a Ford joint-venture battery plant in Kentucky that hasn't started production. The future of Detroit 3 battery plants was a significant issue at the bargaining table during 2023 contract talks. General Motors basically agreed to not oppose the UAW organizing those plants, but Ford's JV wants a union election at the Kentucky plant, called BlueOval SK.
Reuters reported today that a BlueOval SK representative said most workers at the battery facility have not yet been hired, and called the union's petition "premature."
"None of our team members have had the opportunity to see how our plant will operate since we have not yet begun production," the statement said. "The UAW is trying to rush BlueOval SK into unionization before our full workforce has the opportunity to make a truly free and informed choice."
The National Labor Relations Board has not yet set an election date for the plant. How the NLRB handles this election, and other UAW cases, after President-elect Donald Trump takes office Jan. 20 will be anyone's guess.
Another interesting story is Mark Hollmer's look at how last summer's devastating CDK cyberattacks created new business opportunities for vendors.
CDK shut down more than 15,000 of its dealership management systems across North America after the June 19 ransomware event. Hollmer reports that vendors are shaping their product offerings to help dealerships find ways to keep operating after future attacks. Some already are seeing business and customer growth as a result.
Finally, our live blog from CES is loaded with news from our team in Las Vegas.
One highlight: Hakan Samuelsson, the retired CEO of Volvo Cars, gave some advice for Western automakers devising plans to better compete with Chinese upstarts: Stick to your strengths.
"And that is developing brands with personality and purpose," he said during a CES-related breakfast hosted Jan. 7 by consulting firm SBD Automotive.
Looking ahead to Thursday, we'll be taking a comprehensive look at the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that qualify for full or partial federal purchase tax credits for 2025 compared with 2024.
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That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
