EV Registrations Jump 27%, Charging Reminder App, Walmart Uses AI To Hire

Automotive State of The Union

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Episode #1148: Buyers rush to lock in EV tax credits, Toyota builds an app to hack your habits, and Walmart’s HR chief taps AI for top talent.

Legacy automakers saw a sharp EV registration bump in July as buyers rushed to lock in the $7,500 federal tax credit before it expires at the end of September. However, Tesla, Rivian, and VinFast didn’t share in the win.
- EV registrations jumped 27% for legacy brands like Chevrolet and Honda, far outpacing the overall 6% EV market growth and pushing EV share to 8.9% of the light-vehicle market.
- Tesla saw a 13% YoY drop in registrations, while Rivian dipped 6% and VinFast slid 17%.
- Chevrolet more than doubled its EV registrations, while Volkswagen posted a 127% increase
- Honda’s Prologue EV offered nearly $13,000 per unit in incentives, helping it to a 102% rise, while Audi tripled its numbers thanks to strong Q4 e-tron performance.
- “The current surge in EV sales is being driven by product innovation, motivated dealers and an urgency ahead of the IRA tax credit phaseout,” said Cox Automotive’s Stephanie Valdez Streaty.

Toyota is getting creative about plug-in hybrid charging with a new app that uses behavioral science to make sure owners actually… plug in. It’s dopamine-driven, gamified brain hacking in the name of better fuel economy.
- Toyota’s ChargeMinder app uses over a dozen behavioral interventions to encourage charging, including personalized reminders and gamified streaks.
- It boosted U.S. user satisfaction by 16 percentage points and increased off-peak charging in Japan by 59%, though U.S. charging frequency only rose 10%.
- The app uses vehicle telematics and location data to deliver nudges and educational quizzes that make charging habits stick.
- Toyota says this low-cost strategy can rival expensive infrastructure or incentive programs in moving consumer behavior.
- Dr. Laura Libby, Manager, Carbon Neutrality, Human Centered AI, Toyota Research Institute: “Small, targeted interventions can have a large impact on people’s decisions and actions.”

While most associate AI in hiring with resume screening, Walmart’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris is tapping tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to help identify potential candidates—especially for high-level internal or external leadership roles.
- Morris uses AI to ask targeted questions when kicking off key searches, saying the results often align closely with candidates already under consideration.
- Walmart has already piloted an AI Interview Coach and is launching a custom version of OpenAI’s Certification Program through Walmart Academy.
- Morris also uses AI in daily life—from diagnosing her father’s skin bruises to finding art replicas and restaurant recs—crediting it with making research faster and more accessible.
- “Now, the access to information is phenomenal,” she said. “I think

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