Last month, AutoPacific had front row seats to Lucid's first-ever Investor Day event, in which a select group of analysts and journalists were joined by a crowd of hungry investors. On a rainy Thursday morning, we learned what's next for the ambitious startup, a chapter soon to be written with new arrivals of mid-size EVs and a strong focus on bringing autonomy to the masses. Each strategy promises additional revenue opportunities and hopefully turns around the sizable cumulative $2.7 billion net loss it saw in 2024 and 2025. The monetary pulse funded by the Saudi government can only beat for so long.

Earlier this month, Qualcomm and Wayve, a UK-based company developing a universal AI-powered software stack for consumer vehicles and robotaxis, announced a very noteworthy collaboration that has the potential to democratize autonomous drive technology sooner than later. Ultimately, the results of this collaboration will also help power Qualcomm’s strategy to scale to the Level 4 robotaxi space. Qualcomm is seeing considerable success with its Snapdragon Ride platform, which is notable for serving as a central processor that has a foundation of a modular and flexible architecture that integrates ADAS and autonomous drive components from any number of third-party suppliers.

Noted automotive market research and consulting firm AutoPacific recently issued its forecast of annual U.S. light vehicle sales, predicting a 15.9 million unit year in 2026, down from 16.3 million units sold in 2025 though volume recovery is expected through the remainder of the decade and into the next. Alternative powertrains are expected to continue gaining market share throughout the forecast period, rising from 24% of the total market in 2025 to 38% in 2031, with hybrids powering most of that growth.  

It’s no secret that EVs are having a rough go in the U.S. market at the moment. The Trump 2.0 administration oversaw the early elimination of the Federal tax credit on EV purchases, which resulted in the effective price of EVs jumping by thousands on October 1, 2025. To add to the pain, the Trump Administration imposed hefty tariffs on imported vehicles and parts, further adding to EVs’ pricing challenge.

CES 2026 didn’t feel like a traditional auto show, and unlike recent years, vehicle launches weren’t a priority. Instead, the focus shifted toward signaling long-term direction, mostly through supplier partnerships rather than new sheetmetal. The only automakers with a meaningful footprint on the show floor were Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela, and Chinese brands, Geely (Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Geely) and Great Wall Motors, with visibility that was impossible to ignore. In the absence of other OEM stands, Chinese automakers leaned in, broadcasting brand messaging and framing how they think about technology, speed, and scale. More than symbolism, it reflected a growing confidence in software-first, vertically integrated development as a competitive advantage, not a future ambition.

At CES 2026, it was clear the auto industry’s next phase hinges not on new vehicle launches, but on how well OEMs and suppliers scale software, autonomy, and AI-enabled systems in practical settings. This year, the show shifted from traditional product debuts to a focus on compute architectures, software platforms, and “physical AI” — the blend of autonomous driving, robotics, and advanced perception systems. CES’s evolution away from the traditional auto show is evident. OEMs now use their presence to signal long-term strategy, not just highlight near-term products.

Toward the end of 2025, AutoPacific traveled to Rivian's Mountain View, CA facility to attend the announcement of the next wave of Rivian technology innovations at its Autonomy & AI Day event, and the news didn’t disappoint. In a nutshell, Rivian is going big on AI-powered autonomous drive features and eventually full Level 4 autonomy that is largely enabled not only by in-house software, but in-house hardware too, including its very own silicon - something that the vast majority of automakers do not do.

Even as the U.S. vehicle marketplace faces the threatening possibilities of steep tariffs on imported vehicles and the elimination of helpful federal tax credits, automakers will continue to expand their EV offerings. In order to remain competitive, there’s a key segment strongly desired amongst many consumers wanting to go all-in on electrification: three-row crossovers and SUVs.

Last week, the AutoPacific team was on the ground for the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show. While the schedule of on-site press conferences may have been relatively lighter compared to prior years, there was still an eclectic mix of new and updated products under the lights on the show floor. Here's the download on some of our highlights.

With every passing year, our AutoPacific team continues to conduct research on vehicle shoppers in an ongoing effort to learn what American consumers think of Chinese automakers...because they will be here at some point. Last week, I dove into our latest batch of data to see if perception has changed at all compared to last year's Future Attribute Demand Study or “FADS”, and well, things are trending in a rather surprising direction.

Everyone has "must-have" and "nice to have" features when it comes to vehicle shopping. Those features that they won't buy a vehicle without, and those that they would be willing to forgo if needed. AutoPacific's newest Future Attribute Demand Study (FADS), which surveyed more than 18,000 consumers who plan to buy or lease a new vehicle in the next three years, captures these differences for the first time to provide even greater insight into feature demand to automakers, suppliers, and marketers.

I recently got the chance to spend a few days with the all-new 2026 Nissan Leaf, now in its third generation and representing the biggest change to this nameplate since its launch for the 2011 model year. The third-generation Leaf has morphed from the unpopular five-door hatchback bodystyle to a much more fashionable coupe-crossover shape, and not surprisingly, it’s light-years ahead of the prior two generations in terms of technology and general appeal.

Volvo, the humble hygge-focused automaker who marks 70 years in the U.S. market, is beginning its next saga where domestic assembly and flexible electrification become the pinnacle focus. Midway through the 2020s, the Volvo lineup has and continues to evolve, with consumer tastes dictating segment and powertrain strategies. Sedans and wagons are traded for more popular, in-demand crossovers, while ICE and various forms of hybridization are still increasingly preferable over pure EVs.

The luxury space continues to rapidly evolve as consumer tastes change and brands either retreat altogether or scale back their future electrification ambitions. While some automakers remain committed to EVs, others are instead refocusing on hybridization and ICE. Point the blame at harsh tariffs placed on imported vehicles into the United States, lagging federal incentive support, lingering consumer woes about EV ownership and charging, and consequently slowing sales. Take Audi, for example. Credited as being one of the first to market with a luxury EV, the e-tron, which launched nearly seven years ago for our 2019 MY, Audi has faced a whirlwind of challenges and is now scaling back on its bold EV plans.

Here at AutoPacific, we can't stress enough the degree and the speed at which the automotive and tech industries are converging, and just how significant and game-changing this ongoing development is. Like it or not, the modern automobile is a highly complex suite of computers on four wheels, and just about every touch point in a modern automobile is increasingly defined by technology. As such, names like Qualcomm, which was previously known for its massive contributions to wireless technologies and semiconductors, have become crucially important in the automotive supplier world.

Plug-in hybrids in general have been a tough sell, partly because after all these years, their benefits are hard for many consumers to understand, and people tend not to spend lots of money on things they don’t understand. While plug-in hybrids have only seen mild success, a new type of plug-in hybrid is about to hit showrooms. Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) provide the driver with much more all-electric range, typically well over 100 miles, than traditional PHEVs, which typically can drive about 25-50 miles on electricity alone.

Fifteen years ago, in 2010, Nissan launched the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle, the Leaf. Until the 2023 model year when the Ariya crossover launched, the Leaf remained Nissan’s only electric vehicle sold in the U.S. market, while Tesla and a myriad of legacy automakers and startups eagerly jumped into the EV market themselves. Worse yet, in North America Nissan was largely absent from the growing hybrid market aside from some half-baked, long-forgotten efforts that sold in minuscule volumes such as the Pathfinder Hybrid and Murano Hybrid.

Our latest data and forecast EV sales reveal the considerable impact of the upcoming elimination of the Federal tax credit. The recent passing of H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, includes the elimination of the Biden-era Federal tax credit for EV purchases and leases that can currently save the consumer up to $7,500 off the purchase price of a full battery electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid vehicle, or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The impact of the repeal, which goes into effect after September 30, will no doubt be consequential as it effectively raises the cost of EVs significantly, making them less affordable to many interested shoppers.

The results of AutoPacific’s 2025 Future Vehicle Planner are in with preliminary data showing some large changes in demand for many features, including higher demand for some autonomous driving and ADAS features over 2024 results. Our Future Vehicle Planner, a respected source widely used by automotive product planners, marketers and technology development teams, contains both the Future Attribute Demand Study (FADS) and the EV Consumer Insights Study. Now in its 4th year, the study surveys licensed drivers ages 18 and older in the U.S. who intend to acquire a new, not used, vehicle within the next 3 years.

Summer is here and the automotive industry continues to be caught in the middle of chaos, fending off rare-earth minerals shortages for parts, ever-changing tariff guidance on imported vehicles and parts that necessitate relocating production locations, general inflation, and punishingly high interest rates. It’s not the easiest time to be a consumer shopping for a new vehicle. To combat these threats, automakers may need to get creative by streamlining their current offerings and do whatever it takes to keep affordability in check.