Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
You probably saw this coming: The U.S. electric vehicle market collapsed in October, the first month without the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
The overall market fell 4.3 percent to 1.28 million vehicles on a 29 percent drop in fleet volume, GlobalData said, that offset a 0.3 percent gain in retail deliveries.
The annualized sales rate in October, 15.4 million, was also the weakest of the year so far, GlobalData reported.
Still, the month was far from a complete wipeout for some automakers.
As David Phillips reports, a sharp increase in light-truck sales led Toyota Motor Corp. to a 12 percent gain in October. Hyundai and Subaru volume fell, but sales edged up at Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Kia despite the industrywide slump in electric vehicle demand.
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Three Toyotas — the Corolla, 4Runner and Tacoma — posted double- and triple-digit gains, while Grand Highlander sales surged to 12,860 from 667 a year earlier. However, October sales of the automaker's two EVs fell sharply: The Toyota bZ4X plummeted 99 percent, and Lexus RZ deliveries dropped 96 percent.
Ford reported a 1.5 percent gain for the month, with Ford division's sales up 2.4 percent and Lincoln's down 13 percent. The company's EV sales slipped 25 percent, with the Mustang Mach-E down 12 percent, F-150 Lightning off 17 percent and E-Transit van down 76 percent.
Honda's sales rose 0.5 percent and Acura's 2 percent, but sales of Honda Motor Co.'s two EVs both fell, with the Honda Prologue down 80 percent and Acura ZDX down 98 percent. The ZDX has been discontinued.
Two of Hyundai's core EVs fell sharply ― the Ioniq 5, down 63 percent, and Ioniq 6, off 52 percent. Kia's top-selling EVs, the EV6 and EV9, posted even steeper declines last month.
Where the EV market is headed is anyone's guess, but automakers have begun to slash output and idle the workers who assemble them.
And analysts say the market faces other headwinds: Borrowing costs remain elevated, consumer sentiment has weakened on concerns about the near-term job market, and U.S. tariffs continue to place upward pressure on prices.
Other stories to check out today include reports on the strength of auto shows, Ferrari's earnings, a significant Jeep recall and layoffs at Ally Financial.
That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your day. If you want to view this story on your browser click here.
— Wes Raynal, assistant web editor
