The TechMobility Podcast
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The TechMobility Podcast
Racing into the Future: Volkswagen's U.S. Play, Volvo's SUV, and Autonomous Trucking Trends
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Ever wondered if there's still room for new players in the crowded electric vehicle market? Join me, Ken Chester, as we explore Volkswagen's ambitious plans to bring the Cupra brand to the U.S. by 2030. We'll dive into the challenges they face, from legal hurdles with existing dealers to the strategic decisions of direct sales versus a franchise model. Along the way, you'll hear about my journey in the Entrepreneur of Impact competition, where your support is vital to help me reach the top.
Shift your gears as we move from Volkswagen to Volvo's latest electric marvel, the EX30 SUV. Reflecting on Volvo's evolution from the 90s to now, we dissect the EX30's blend of performance and sustainability, highlighted by its breathtaking acceleration and advanced tech features. However, it's not all smooth sailing—discover the design challenges Volvo navigates with its minimalist interior and absence of a spare tire. This segment promises insights into how Volvo is reshaping its identity while keeping its commitment to eco-friendly innovation.
Finally, venture into the realm of autonomous commercial trucking and its transformative potential. With driver shortages and rising transportation costs, autonomous trucks are set to disrupt long-haul logistics, offering solutions to age-old industry challenges. We'll also look at the surprising resilience of passenger cars in the top 10 best-selling vehicles in America, revealing consumer priorities in today's market. No matter your automotive interests, this episode of the TechMobility Podcast promises to keep you informed and intrigued about the future of transportation.
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Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester. I want to thank each and every one of you who has been along with me on this journey and voted for me in this Entrepreneur of Impact competition. As of the time of this recording, I'm in seventh place and it means that I have survived three rounds of elimination. They've gone from 75 competitors to 10. But two more remain. That is top five, and then, finally, the winner of all of it. I still need your help in order to get across the finish line.
Speaker 2:The competition does allow people to vote once a day, each day during the competition, and, yes, you can vote more than once. One thing you can do also, and I'm asking for once they also have a way where you can buy more votes, and that money benefits Gen Youth, which is a nonprofit aimed at helping at-risk kids in schools with meals and gym activities and good stuff. Also, usually, right before the cutoff, they'll open up a space where your vote counts for double. So what I'm asking you to consider this one time, because we're so close is if you might actually go in and vote. Consider a small donation maybe $10.25 if you're so inclined, during the time where it counts double and you can say because it will say limited time, 2x. That will give double votes and it will help get me across the finish line and if that happens, we win this thing. I'm planning to do something special, maybe some sort of live event for everybody who helped out. So thank you so much who helped out. So thank you so much. The link is wwwentrepreneurofimpactorg. Backslash the number 2025. Backslash Ken-Chester-Jr that's K-E-N-Chester, c-h-e-s-t-e-r-j-r. Tell everybody you know to vote. It's quick and, like I said, it'll mean a lot to me. Thank you so very much.
Speaker 2:Is America ready for yet another automotive nameplate, another brand and, more importantly, are they ready for another brand from Volkswagen? Let's see. Volkswagen does Volkswagen and Audi in the United States. They're bringing Scout, which is, believe it or not, a Volkswagen brand, and a brand new plant in 2027. There's questions of whether or not Audi and even Porsche will be building in the United States. And now Volkswagen is in talks with Penske Automotive about their Cupra brand, which is their Spanish nameplate, entering the market in 2030.
Speaker 2:My question is is there room? I mean, let's look at the facts. Right now. You have an influx of EV manufacturers, first-time manufacturers, coming to market. We've seen Tesla bulk up back in 2018, 2019 with the Model 3 and become a force to be reckoned with. We have seen Rivian, which seems to have gotten traction in the old Mitsubishi plant in Normal Illinois and building another plant in Georgia, and then there's a host of others that may get traction, both commercial automakers and retail automakers that are making noise and making progress, but it ain't quite there yet. I'm thinking of Atlas as one example, where it is Volkswagen.
Speaker 2:I mean, I guess the question is in the throes of upper management of an automaker, what do you look at to determine whether or not you want to commit years and billions, with a B plural of dollars, to a market to launch a brand Number one you're talking about? It's not just the same as oh, we're just going to start shipping cars. There's a whole sales and marketing force you got to build. There's a whole parts and service you're going to build. Then it's the question of are you going to try a direct model like Tesla, or are you going to build a traditional franchise dealer network? And if you do, are you going to give dealers that are already selling more of your brands in-country first dibs?
Speaker 2:Scout Motors has already run afoul of that, with Volkswagen dealers taking them to court because Scout believes that they could go direct to consumer consumer and the VW dealers ain't having it. How is Volkswagen going to introduce this brand in the midst of all of this? Because remember, by the time they come in 2030, scout will have only been active in the marketplace two to three model years. So the jury is still out there spending hard money on Scout Motors right now in a brand new green field plant in South Carolina Billions of dollars, two models with more to come and the jury is out right now whether or not they'll even be successful, even if they get to the point of selling cars. But they're committed. Then this is further muddied with the current legislative environment, which may bring Porsche and Audi stateside in manufacturing, which could muddy whether or not Volkswagen imports these cars or builds them here. All of that is in flux and this is just one automaker here. All of that is in flux and this is just one automaker.
Speaker 2:I don't know why they thought that their sporty brand would have traction in the United States and five years from now. They announced last March and they said that CUPRA's US sales and Cupra, by the way, is spelled C-U-P-R-A would be done through quote a new distribution channel, unquote. Really, volkswagen, you haven't learned with Scout. Yet what you're going through right now. They're partnering with Penske Auto Group, which does a lot of this kind of stuff. They're partnering with Penske Auto Group, which does a lot of this kind of stuff, and they said that Penske's leadership in the industry and experience with the Volkswagen Group makes this a very promising potential partnership. Penske, for their part, said Cupra is a contemporary brand with bold and innovative designs and is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe.
Speaker 2:Cupra, along with Volkswagen, seat and Skoda, make up the automakers brand group core. So while Cupra may be known in the rest of the world, it's not known in the United States at all. So you're looking at having to build an image, build a brand, build out a sales and service complex parts. All of that Because what I don't know is how much of the underpinnings of the Cupra is shared by other Volkswagen group nameplates, because that could mitigate a lot of it. If they share a lot with their existing Volkswagen offerings in the United States, then it does cut down because they can use the same parts depots that Volkswagen already has. And then dealer training or even Penske group training. You're going to need technicians to learn it. You're going to need salespeople to sell it and you're going to need opportunities set up.
Speaker 2:Whether you roll out regionally or nationally, all at once, or however, it's going to happen for people to get quality time with the vehicle, be introduced to the vehicle, get a chance to drive the vehicle, make up their own mind, and then they say sporty. So what does that mean? How different is it from what Volkswagen is selling in the United States right now? Is the tweak different? Also, what about an EV? What about hybrids? Is that even a thing? This doesn't talk about any of that.
Speaker 2:They believe that it's going to be aimed at younger consumers, but we've already reported here younger consumers are waiting longer to drive in the first place and are taking longer to buy vehicles. So again, where are the demographics coming from? What does the model look like and where are the price points going to be? Are they going to be at the low end of the price point, say in the mid-20s, low 30s? Are they going to be in the mid-range? Because, again, sporty Is that look? Is that performance? Is that all of the above? None of the above? So many questions. And then they've got to deal with these dealer lawsuits, because the Volkswagen dealers are not just going to say, oh goody, more competition from our brand. Next up my impressions of the all-new Volvo EX30. It's quirking away. That is uniquely Swedish. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days. We're no exception. I'm ken chester, the tech mobility show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week, shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show, from Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between. We got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 3:Once upon a time a Volvo 850 Turbo meets a BMW 325i and the BMW says I have 189 horsepower. And the Volvo says that's nice, I have 222. I can do 0 to 60 in 7.8 seconds. And the Volvo says that's nice, I can do it in 6.3. So the BMW says I'm the ultimate and the Volvo says really 6.3 seconds.
Speaker 2:That is glacial by today's standards. Right now, the fastest vehicles that you can own that don't cost astronomical money have it down to less than three seconds, and I'm talking between 2.5 and 2.9 seconds, and ironically they're both EVs. Imagine that.
Speaker 2:But Volvo Volvo back in the 90s was right in the middle of a kind of a change in perception. They wanted people not just to think that Volvo was just merely safe, which they were, but also fun to drive and performance-oriented, which they became. That was going on in the 1990s. They were still building cars back then Forward to now.
Speaker 2:The wait is over Big on safety, sustainability and design. The new fully electric Volvo EX30 is the best of Volvo distilled. Introduced to the world in Milan, italy, back in 2023, the EX 30 brings big power to a small and mighty world that delightfully plays with scale and perspective to help shift perception of what an informed consumer expects a fully electric Volvo car to be. I will add this I got a chance to drive the EX30 last May at the Midwest Automotive Media Association Spring Rally. At the time, volvo was still looking at a 2024 introduction in North America. That did not happen. They moved it to 2025. This is an interesting car, very interesting car, produced in China at launch, the EX30 is related to the Zeekr X and Smart Number 1, which are similar in size and developed from Volvo parent Geely's SEA platform. The automaker plans to expand production to its manufacturing complex in Ghent, belgium, to increase its global production output. Ghent is also the place back in the day when Volvo made their S40 sedan and V40 wagons, which at the time were some of the smallest Volvos that they made and were pretty cool. I remember driving them. The all-new EX30 provides drivers with a true and capable SUV, born electric and packed with all the smart tech. Drivers need no joke. Customers get a premium fully electric SUV for a similar price to a combustion engine powered equivalent as a small SUV that does big Volvo things. The new fully electric Volvo EX30 is also designed to have the smallest carbon footprint of any fully electric Volvo car to date and to make people's lives safer, more convenient and more enjoyable through cutting-edge technology and Scandinavian design.
Speaker 2:Available in two trim levels, the initial offering of the EX30 in North America is equipped with its twin-motor performance electric drivetrain. The high-performance electric powertrain features an all-wheel drive standard for an exhilarating driving experience without compromising range and comfort. The electric motors are powered by a 69-kilowatt-hour nickel-manganese-cobalt battery pack and produces 422 horsepower at an impressive 400 foot-pounds of torque With a range of 265 miles, the EX30 turns in a performance of 3.84 miles per kilowatt hour. Its 0-60 time is 3.4 seconds, just a bit slower than the Tesla Model S Plaid at 2.9 seconds, and remember, 30 years ago fast was less than 7 seconds. Cargo capacity is 31.9 cubic feet, which includes a small storage space in the front of the vehicle, which some have called this space a frunk. Pick your own adjective. It is storage space where the internal combustion engine used to be, and automakers have various sizes. The Volvo EX30's one is small, very small, not even sure it could carry a briefcase, but could carry some stuff. Volvo says that its other models will be coming to the EX30 vehicle lineup, including a slightly less expensive single-motor rear-wheel drive variant which uses a less expensive lithium-iron-phosphate battery chemistry with a range of approximately 200 miles Using a fast charger. Volvo claims a 10% to 80% charging time of just 26 1⁄2 minutes.
Speaker 2:So here's what I liked about the vehicle. The EX30 delivers a very dynamic, yes, refined drive with breathtaking acceleration and smooth linear power from standstill up to top speed, typical of most electrics. A lot of fun, though. One pedal drive gives intuitive control, while all-wheel drive adds to stability and traction in all road conditions. And I can tell you, one pedal drive takes some getting used to, but once you get used to it I don't think you'd want to drive any other way. A performance all-wheel drive mode optimizes performance and confidence on challenging roads and when all-wheel drive is not required, the car is mainly rear-wheel driven to optimize range Inside the passenger cabin.
Speaker 2:Sustainability is key, with a novel command and control 12.3-inch infotainment screen serving as the vehicle's only information center. As with almost anything these days, the EX30 can also be set up on your cell phone via the Volvo EX30 app. Regardless of model, the EX30 is brimming with safety and convenience features way too many to list during this short introduction. Solid, quiet and responsive, the EX30 boasts plenty of nooks and crannies for storage space throughout the cabin. Large Goodyear Assurance, finesse 245-40R20 tires keep the small Volvo EV connected to terra firma. Here's what I didn't like about the vehicle. Volvo takes minimalist interior design to the way next level in the EX30. Using the large infotainment display to control pretty much every setting in the car will take some getting used to for new owners and if you're a techie at heart, you will take to the new display arrangement like a fish to water. And if not, like me, it may be a struggle to adapt.
Speaker 2:At first, there's no spare tire and these tires are not designated as run flats. And in case you don't know what a run flat is, it is a tire engineered to run without air for short periods, up to 50 miles if it encountered a hazard and lost pressure. These tires are pricey. Priced them upwards of 300 bucks each should you damage one or need to replace them, meaning that you're going to spend easy 1200 just for the tires, not installation when it need to replace them, meaning that you're going to spend easy $1,200 just for the tires, not installation when it comes to replace them. And because it's an electric, it's heavier, you're going to replace them sooner. And finally, and I've not talked about this in a while, these tires are classified as all season, not all weather, meaning that if you're going to be driving in part of the country with four seasons of weather, you will need to consider purchasing a set of winter tires.
Speaker 2:Bottom line, as the smallest Volvo in the company's lineup, the EX30 is stylish and extremely capable. Its quirky command and control screen will take some getting used to, a la Tesla, and there are concerns with the lack of a spare tire and absence of run-flat technology at the four corners of the vehicle. Other than that, you might consider waiting for several of the new variants that will hit the marketplace in a few months a cheaper version and a more rugged cross-country model. The base manufacturer suggested retail price for the 2025 Volvo EX30 starts from $44,900 for the Plus and $46,600 for the Ultra. Destination charges add $1,295. Is autonomy the answer for the future of truck freight transportation? The answer is next.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere you can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar.
Speaker 2:Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place to be, and we're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility show. Several times a week I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology, news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:In development and on the road, mainly in the southwestern United States, for almost 10 years, autonomous commercial trucks offer compelling use cases and benefits to the total cost of operation that could translate to approximately $600 billion market by 2035. And that's just in the United States. Is this the future? This is topic B. If you're a regular listener to this show, then you probably recall me talking about, over the years, autonomous commercial trucks. A lot of reasons for that. A lot of reasons for that. The question still remains whether or not this has enough traction to be adopted. Short answer is yes. Fun fact or question for you. We're going to see if you've been listening. When was the first commercial transfer or haul of an autonomous trucking system? Extra points if you know where, what state, and even more points if you know from where to where and what they were carrying. I'm going to come back to that in a minute and I'll tell you in a minute, but I want you to think about that Now.
Speaker 2:According to this McKinsey and company white paper, they say autonomous vehicles with the potential to reduce shipping costs and address a scarcity of drivers will likely be delayed by another year. That's according to McKinsey analysis and it's not quite right because we've reported here at least one company that's already hauling and getting paid to do it. Now they might be saying more nationwide because really right now you're looking at two states predominantly You're looking at Arizona and Texas, and a lot of freight and freight lanes in those two states and between those two states. And everybody has had their hand in it. The postal service has had some demos. Fedex, ups, trucking firms have done it and in fact one Thanksgiving not so long ago, they had a truck, an autonomous truck, drive coast to coast across the interstate cross I-15. This is happening, but let's look at what's driving it.
Speaker 2:Several things Driver shortages. We've talked about this on and off. Right now there's a shortage of 80,000 commercial truck drivers. They expect that to double in five years. According to McKinsey, they say, the average age, the median age of a truck driver in the United States is 46, compared with 42 for the workforce overall. I would contend that numbers I've seen is 10 years older than that, which sounds more like it To talk about Europe and China. I'm not going to talk about that, I'm just going to keep it.
Speaker 2:In the United States, they also talk about regulations. Most autonomous trucking regulations to date have either been supportive or neutral. Here's the thing the federal government has yet to enact autonomous driving regulations nationwide. Many states explicitly or implicitly allow testing of autonomous systems, with several states allowing commercial use. I'll name them Texas and Arizona.
Speaker 2:Let me back up for a minute Driver shortages and regulations. What do these two things have in common that will pin a human driver down that autonomous trucks don't have? It's called federal hours of service regulations. They are the regulations that dictate how many hours a trucker can be behind the wheel of his truck in any 24 hour period and when they hit the what they would call hit the hours they have stopped. And it's same as for the railroad industry, which is why sometimes and it don't matter when they hit those hours, they stop by federal law. They stop. They stop the train. It could be in a remote section, god knows where truckers have the same problem now. No, trucker's not going to stop in the middle of the road because he hit his hours, but it's going to impact his ability. And there's a lot of back and forth about wait times counting towards hours of service although they're not driving. How it impacts owner operators because they're limited in what they can make money based on federal hours of service. Autonomous trucks don't have those limitations because they don't have human drivers.
Speaker 2:The other thing they talk about is transportation costs. Cost Spot rates for freight are up 28% in Europe. They're now 8.7% of nominal GDP in the United States. Key causes higher driver salaries and costs for fuel and tolls. They expect that to further increase with shifts to higher emission standards and zero emission vehicles. Then they talk about the use cases for autonomous trucking. The one that they expect to be implemented first is called constrained autonomy, which is hub-to-hub driverless operations.
Speaker 2:And let me get even more specific Really transfer hub to transfer hub. What do I mean by that? The biggest problem they have, and where this makes the most money, is long haul trucking, that is, runs of over 1,500 miles, which is coast-to-coast trucking. It is also the hardest to keep and retain drivers because they're away from home for long periods of time. Anything can happen equipment failures, weather, all this kind of stuff and a lot of the people who do that kind of driving out of the 3.5 million commercial truckers on the road, roughly 600,000 do coast-to-coast trucking, which would also include owner-operators, which would also include owner-operators. That middle mile from hub to hub is where autonomous, constrained autonomy can excel, mainly because they're also confined to interstates.
Speaker 2:Now, what you may have not realized over the last 10 to 15 years, if you've lived in any major metropolitan area, on the outskirts of those areas, usually anywhere from 5 to 20 miles out, you've seen this incredible buildup of warehouses Just tons and tons and tons Big time. Des Moines, I've seen it. Chicago, I've seen it. What's going on? Well, they're laying the groundwork for autonomous hub-to-hub. If it's right there in the interstate, they can literally program the vehicle to go from the hub to the interstate, run the middle mile, get off the interstate and go there.
Speaker 2:In this case it still would be a transfer hub because you would need a driver to take it to the distribution center, which very often is further into the city. But what that does is it reduces cost because now you don't have long distance truckers. You have local truckers who are home every night. They don't get paid as much but should be easier to retain because they're home every night, they don't have to be on the road and they're not even going out of state to probably within a hundred miles of where they live every single day. So you've got the double benefit of having middle mile covered, lower cost for drivers and a greater potential pool for different types of drivers. Because now it's local, you can market. That said, you're home every night, you don't have to be on the road, you don't have to go way far away and be subject to all kinds of stuff, because the autonomous vehicle is doing that for you and all you got to do is drive from the transfer point to the distribution hub or from the distribution hub to the delivery center. That's where this makes the most. They expect full autonomy to take place starting in 2040, but that depends on a lot of other things regulations, which we talked about earlier, and all of that. To come back to that answer, because you thought I forgot, the year was 2015, and it was Colorado and it was from Fort Collins, colorado Springs, and it was Budweiser beer. That was the first paid commercial autonomous freight movement. In case you were wondering, I wanted to give that to you. So this has been going on for quite a while and it's been testing from that day to this, and constrained autonomy is what you're going to see in the southeastern part of the United States.
Speaker 2:Move over F-150. Here's a new sales leader in town. We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobilityshow during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos From the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:For the last 47 years, the Ford F-Series wore the sales crown for the best-selling product line in America, with 42 of those years attributed to the F-150. As they say, the king is dead. Long live the king. The F-150 is now the second best-selling vehicle in America and we know who the new leader is. This is Topic C. And we know who the new leader is. This is topic C. I start with this list of what Americans bought last year with a caveat. Now this was published by Jado Dynamics and they list this one caveat, this one small technicality, where the F-150s fall from grace in the number one spot, and that's that Ford typically self-reports F-Series, adding together F-150, f-250, f-350, etc. Sales in one big lump. So they're relying on Jado Dynamic data to break down the individual F-150 sales to keep the fight fair.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about the top 10 vehicles America bought last year. Let me start with a surprise. You would think, with all the publicity over the last year of automakers discontinuing passenger cars, that passenger cars are dead. Surprise, surprise, surprise. No, they're not and you're going to find out in a minute which ones America is still clamoring for. And the number 10 slot is the GMC Sierra. It's the 1500. They sold over 216,000 of them last year. In number nine this is the first surprise. In number nine this is the first surprise Honda Civic, honda Civic, and they sold Honda Civics a car. Last year in the United States of America, honda sold 242,000 Honda Civics. That's a major feat. Number eight and this is no surprise Nissan's Rogue. Of all the vehicles, this is their volume leader and it came in at $245,000 plus. So in the midst of everything, there's some vehicles people want to own that have a Nissan label on them. The Nissan Rogue is one of them. Number six and seven are Toyotas no surprise Camry and Corolla. There's a reason why both of these vehicles, which have been in the Toyota lineup forever, are popular still. They sold the Toyota Corolla sedan they sold with the hatchback they sold. Toyota sold in last year 283,000 of them and that was a growth of 22% year to year. So not only is Corolla still popular after over 60 years of production, but it finished seventh, it's stable, made, which, believe it or not, is the larger Toyota Camry. Again, reason Over 300,000 Toyota Camry in the United States of America last year.
Speaker 2:I'm going to stop right here, I'm going to throw this brick. Could it be that Americans, when faced with the ever increasing cost of buying a new vehicle, which is almost $50,000, the Civic, the Corolla and the Camry could all be owned for less than 40 brand new? Is the American consumer trying to tell automakers something right here? Food for thought. In the fifth place, number five Chevy, silverado, interesting Number five, though. Number five 200,000, well, I'm sorry, five, 200,000, well, I'm sorry, 344,000. My favorite, equinox, finished 17th, but that doesn't count. The new model they got coming out, so that might've been a wind down. We'll see how that finishes next year. But Silverado 344,000, which was a full hundred thousand behind the F-150. Which was a full 100,000 behind the F-150.
Speaker 2:If you're wondering, and I'm going to tell you, no, the Ram is not in this top 10. And that ought to be food for thought for a minute. Why isn't it? Their sales have been off for a while and again pricing, because under the former leadership they believed in higher and higher prices. And I think what you're seeing now is, regardless of the commercials, regardless of the features, it's an affordability issue, which is why you have two, three vehicles that are well regarded, that are passenger cars, in the top 10 for last year, still Number four, no surprise, it's the Tesla Model Y, not the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla Model Y, which is the SUV based on the Model 3, and that's almost 400,000, coming in at 372,000.
Speaker 2:Here's another car In third well, sort of a car, call it a crossover SUV in third place and that's the Honda CR-V 400,000 of them. Still way less than a pickup people, still way less than even a mid-size, well, less than a mid-size SUV. I think what you're seeing here is, like I said earlier, is an affordability issue. This is why these vehicles are selling so well and they're extremely well regarded and extremely well made and everybody wants to own one. You don't get hurt owning a CR-V, but it's interesting to note that well, we'll get to that in a minute. Get to that in a minute. Get to that in a minute.
Speaker 2:Number two Ford F-150. Still, even at number two. After all those years, ford still sold 460,915 F-150s and that's probably the best of any Ford they sold. Even a Ford Explorer came in at 14, and it was still less than 200,000, 194,000. 460,915 F-150s for number two. So who beat them? Who beat them? Remember I said Honda was in the third place with the CR-V.
Speaker 2:Number one and, for so many reasons, the Toyota RAV4. They sold in this environment, in this environment, 475,193 vehicles in 2024. That's kind of like 1970s kind of volume, with certain divisions and certain models. Gm, particularly at Oldsmobile, sold like that, that's Oldsmobile Cutlass volume in the late 1970s. Number one 475,000, but only beaten by about 15,000 units. You didn't see a single Chrysler in that number. You didn't Not Ram, not Jeep. Nope, 475,193. Toyota RAV4, which, by the way, fully equipped, is about half the price of a decently equipped pickup truck nowadays. I think what you're seeing is an affordability issue playing out in what America is choosing to own. And I said it again, let me say it again 475,193. Built in North America, by the way, not imported. Built in North America the way not imported. Built in North America. Just about all of them. And yes, there's a hybrid version too, of the Toyota RAV4. And that's where we're at. We've come to the end of our visit. Be sure to join me again next time, right here.
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