Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: Pakistan secures winter LNG cargo, EV and hybrid sales are growing in the US, and more.

Pakistan Picks Up Winter LNG Cargo

Pakistan has struggled to ink LNG deals due to its status as a credit risk, but the country recently secured LNG cargo for January that should help it avoid energy shortages this winter.

“State-run Pakistan LNG Ltd. bought the cargo from Oman’s OQ Trading, according to traders with knowledge of the matter,” reports Bloomberg. “The shipment was secured at a price premium to the spot market due in part to Pakistan’s credit risk, they said.”

Pakistan’s electricity sector is heavily reliant on natural gas generators. When global LNG prices spiked last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s power grid was left in the lurch. Plus, power theft problems run rampant throughout the country, miring its nationalized grid in debt. For a deeper look at Pakistan’s power problem, you can check out our most recent coverage of it on Grid Brief Premium.

EV and Hybrid Sales Grow in US

Electric vehicle and hybrid sales rose 17.7% in Q3 in America.

“Sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and BEVs have accounted for 15.8% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States so far this year, compared with 12.3% in 2022 and 8.5% in 2021,” reports the EIA.

Sales of electric and hybrid cars increased because, in part, prices of electric cars, specifically battery electric vehicles, dropped for popular models, making them more affordable and boosting sales in the third quarter.

On average, the cost of an EV dropped by 5% to $50,283, which is 24% less than the highest price of an EV recorded in the second quarter of 2022. Comparatively, the average price for all types of cars didn't decrease much, only around 0.5%. Now, the cost of EVs is nearly $3,000 closer to the average price of all types of cars sold.

So, will these cars become the American standards? Not so fast. EV sales have mostly played out in the luxury sector where they made up 34% of all luxury car sales in the third quarter. But in the non-luxury car market, EV sales are still quite low, making up less than 2% of total sales.

In fact, 91% of all EV sales are in the luxury vehicle segment, whereas only 13% of non-luxury gasoline or diesel cars sold fall into the luxury category. This trend matches the types of electric car models available from manufacturers: more than two-thirds of them are considered luxury vehicles.

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