Roughly 80% of Cadillac EV purchasers are first-time customers for the brand. Additionally, Honda intends to await developments from the U.S. government with hopes that the trade circumstances will improve.
It appears as though numerous pundits and automotive executives have been loudly proclaiming over the last several weeks that the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is “slack,” suggesting they should refrain from pushing electric cars. However, recent developments indicate significant successes for certain major players in the EV market today.
Hey ya’ll, welcome back to
Critical Materials
, our morning compilation of industry and technology updates. I’m stepping in for the regular team here at
InsideEVs
; Suvrat is still at Toyota’s primary headquarters checking things out.
with various cool Toyota-themed items,
as Patrick George makes his journey back across the nation.
This week, Cadillac achieved significant victories in electric vehicles, Honda prefers to await developments from the U.S. government, while several car manufacturers are striving to render their production facilities almost entirely free of human workers.
30%: Cadillac Attracts Customers Away From Tesla
2026 Cadillac Vistiq
I’m not completely sold on how General Motors is handling their entire electric vehicle strategy, yet this explains why I am penning my thoughts here rather than being in one of those corporate suites. Personally, I have certain views regarding vehicles such as these from GM.
Escalade IQ
or
Lyriq
It doesn’t matter because they’ve turned into unexpected successes for GM, particularly in reshaping Cadillac’s reputation and attracting new customers.
According to reporting from
CNBC
,
Cadillac’s range of models is attracting many first-time customers. In fact, eight out of every ten buyers of the Cadillac electric vehicles have never purchased from the brand before.
Approximately one-fourth of new Lyriq EV buyers previously owned a Tesla Model Y, marking a considerable increase from the 15% recorded last year. Additionally, about 10% of all Cadillacs traded in are currently Teslas.
CNBC’s Michael Weyland noted that Cadillac didn’t explicitly acknowledge that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s political views might be influencing their shift towards electric vehicles. Nonetheless, we understand that this is certainly one of the factors contributing to Tesla owners transitioning to different brands.
That increase in customer conquesting, as the industry refers to it, comes as Cadillac offers a relatively full lineup of EVs and as Tesla faces declining sales and boycotts this year amid CEO Elon Musk’s support of President Donald Trump and his actions as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Cadillac declined to speculate on if Musk’s politics played into Tesla owners’ thinking, saying the carmaker is “building great Cadillacs that are conquesting customers from other brands on the merits of the products.”
Among all the automobile manufacturers available today, Cadillac might be best positioned for triumph within the electric vehicle sector. Whereas companies such as Ford, Acura, or Lexus find themselves challenged when trying to introduce even just a few models into traffic, Cadillac boasts an almost complete lineup of electric vehicles ready for consumers to select from.
The Lyriquin took the lead initially, but now there’s an array of options available.
hyper-expensive Celestiq,
down to the
surprisingly affordable Optiq.
For purchasers considering moving away from Tesla or simply wanting to explore high-end electric vehicles, additional options are beneficial.
60% Honda Believes It Should Await The Resolution Of The U.S. Government Issue
Everything seems to have fallen apart regarding manufacturing and car production in the U.S. It was unexpected how the USMCA (previously known as NAFTA), which governs trade among the continent’s top three economies, started being torn down so rapidly at the beginning of 2025.
Practically every automaker is impacted, but Honda may be one of the worst affected; lots of its forthcoming EV and ICE development and manufacturing were planned to come from Canada. Just last week,
Honda announced that it was pausing expansions in Canada
, partly because of the tariffs.
However, instead of proceeding with further reductions and rushing to address worries about tariffs, Honda CEO Toshirio Mibe believes that the company should stay calm for now.
According to reporting from
Automotive News
MIBE believes that, at the very least, they should wait an additional three months to determine the direction of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreements.
We prefer to wait and observe how circumstances evolve further. It might be best to postpone any decisions for at least another three months, possibly aligning with the timing of the upcoming midterm elections,” stated Mibe at the organization’s international main office. “Since our investments are irreversible, we must ensure our choices regarding fresh commitments are well-considered.
Only a small number of Honda and Acura items come from Japan; notably, just the Civic Type R makes this journey. In contrast, many Civic and CR-V vehicles arrive from Canada. Additionally, the Honda Prologue EV originates from Mexico.
Currently, most of the U.S. government’s executive and legislative branches are controlled by President Donald Trump and the GOP. If there is a tide shift in 2026’s midterm elections, there could be a better mechanism to push back against his near-unilateral decisions to undo global trade agreements.
Honda may be smart to hold off until the political climate gets better before upending their EV or manufacturing plans too much more.
90% of Car Makers Aim for Driverless Production Lines
While the Trump administration aims to revive manufacturing in the United States, some companies are looking to decrease the amount of paid human labor in their factory settings.
An
Automotive News
post
indicated that automobile companies are investing substantial funds into advanced technology sectors like big tech to avoid hiring and compensating employees. Specifically, Hyundai has allocated a $21 billion budget for developing its new production sites, with this funding also covering Boston Dynamics’ Atlas human-like robots. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is currently piloting a comparable human-shaped bot developed by Apptronik.
says that this is ideal for existing factories, since they’re already scaled around a human anyway.
It’s generally assumed that this would be the way to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., with robots doing the vast majority of the work.
It seems Trump might achieve his aim of bringing manufacturing back to the United States, yet technological advancements could result in significant job losses for Americans. In a lights-out manufacturing setup, minimal human labor would be needed, which undermines the original intent behind the current trade conflict.
Not so fast:
“Although researchers have made rapid advances in large behavior models used to train robots, dark factories, also known as lights-out manufacturing, remain aspirational, according to Marie Szymanski, North American general manager of industrial assembly solutions at Atlas Copco, a global maker of industrial tools and equipment.
“We are a ways out from being lights out,” she said. “Just realistically, we’re not quite there yet. As technology and computing, and big data all continue to evolve, we’ll get there. But it’s not quite there yet.”
Therefore, people will continue to participate for now, though how long remains uncertain. The emergence of humanoid robots equipped with artificial intelligence might prove beneficial, or it could turn into an enormous economic loss. Alternatively, we may just be witnessing the dawn of a world akin to that depicted in “The Terminator.”
100% If Manufacturers Get What They Want, Then What Next?
BYD Dolphin Surf (Europe Spec)
I’m glad that Cadillac is finding success in its new EV lineup. They seem to review well; my colleagues here at InsideEVs definitely like them.
To me, however, they appear somewhat stiffer and pricier than what I’d find reasonable to pay. Yet, the current narratives revolve around cutting expenses so that producers can continue manufacturing cars without facing financial ruin—be it through automation or enduring governmental decisions.
These companies face significant challenges; achieving their goals could lead to major shifts within the industry.
If these companies genuinely achieve their goals regarding dark factories or decreased and eliminated tariffs, what strategies should they pursue next? Could they focus on producing more large SUVs? Alternatively, perhaps invest those savings in advanced AI-powered software solutions? Another option could be redirecting funds toward supporting individuals who might lose their jobs as automation reduces the demand for manual labor?
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Contact the author:
Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
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