Hybrid engines, which use both gasoline and electricity as their power source, are slowly taking over various forms of motorsport like Formula 1 and IndyCar. Naturally, one might wonder if NASCAR too would resort to hybrid engines anytime soon. On that note, the HMS boss revealed that although the Next-Gen car is designed to be hybrid, the EV market is not in its fullest bloom by any means.
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In any market, the customer is essentially the dictator of what the producers build. Being in the automobile industry for almost half a century, perhaps nobody knows that better than Rick Hendrick. “You can’t force customers to buy what they don’t want,” he said. “We were too aggressive with the EV market. I think the EV market will be there one day, but we’re not ready for it.”
“I’ve got dealerships in the Bay Area, and selling a Lexus EV versus a Lexus hybrid; we’ve got a waiting list for the hybrids and have to put big discounts on the EVs. Mercedes came out with all these models; I’m a Mercedes dealer and we had a horrible year,” he added. He also admitted that despite a $25,000 rebate on certain cars like Audi and others, the customers would still not buy them.
Could NASCAR have a new OEM?
The 2024 season of NASCAR is expected to bring forth the development that the sport has made in electric and hybrid technology so far. Needless to say, there’s still a lot of work to be done at the R&D department around EV. Last year, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said, “We have a car. We have an alternative body style with that car. I would not look for us specifically to go racing with it. I think you could see it showcased at certain events next year.”
If this happens, there could be a possibility of a new manufacturer in the arena of NASCAR. Although NASCAR has raced cars designed by over 30 companies throughout its history, it’s been just the big three (Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford) dominating the market since 2012. Could there be a fourth one in 2024?
Honda has been in the motorsport domain for quite some time now. Since entering F1 in 1964, the Japanese car manufacturing company has been an inconspicuous part of various racing disciplines like the IMSA and the IndyCar. However, Honda went on a hiatus from F1 in 2021 to focus on building engines that would work on zero-carbon technologies, just like the electric and hybrid ones.
Nevertheless, Honda might return to F1 in 2026 with Aston Martin, but its IndyCar ventures seem to have reached a financial impasse. According to Forbes, their contract with IndyCar is expected to end in 2026 and thus, Honda might be looking for a new home. Could that home be NASCAR? Only time will tell.
