The US electric car market has continued to grow at a rapid pace in the past year — led by California’s particularly strong electric car market, of course. From January through August, sales of 8 fully electric cars* grew 82% in the country. Sales of 6 plug-in hybrid cars were up 28%. Overall, that meant sales of these 14 plug-in car were up 40%.
Not that long ago, only a few electric cars were on the market. Nowadays, there are a few dozen. We certainly have a few favorites here on CleanTechnica, but every plug-in car really has its own selling points. I’m sure I don’t have a comprehensive list of these in my head, and many of the points are definitely as subjective as opinions about music or movies, but below are many of my thoughts on why I’d recommend various plug-in models.
I recently compared the specs of the Tesla Model 3 to the specs of 22 gas-powered competitors that are more or less “in the Model 3’s class.” Naturally, readers also requested that we compare the Model 3 with other electric cars in such a detailed way. So here we are!
As the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime rolled up, I was skeptical. I had owned a Prius for 6 years, and this was just a newer Prius with fancier screens, cleaner carpets, and no melted crayons in the back seat. Boy, was I wrong.
As many of you know, we’re trying to get an electric shuttle startup (Tesla Shuttle) off the ground in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We recently held a test ride event to attract customers, perhaps attract investors, and just generally EVangelize. To organize the event, we partnered with a fleet industry magazine, Menadżer Floty. I was surprised to find out that they actually had a Toyota Prius Prime to bring to the event.
Tesla Model 3 is here, and that has pushed me to again incorporate Tesla sales estimates into our monthly US electric car sales reports. Well, that and a repeated request from readers to bring back Tesla’s US sales estimates*.
Editor’s Note: Below is a repost from TeslaMondo that is followed by excerpts from an EV Annex post that further builds on the topic, with the topic being crazy anti-Tesla quotes from non-Tesla auto company execs.
Big Auto gets a lot of criticism here. The problem for large automakers is that they will crush their own finances and have to write off massive investments if they rapidly shift to electric transport, but they are also exposing themselves to great threat if they are too slow electrifying their offerings. Nonetheless, it’s hard to sympathize when gas & diesel cars are destroying our planet’s climate and countless humans’ health — sometimes the moral high ground should trump the wrath of shareholders.
The battle for the top electric vehicle sales title is underway between Toyota’s Prius Prime and GM’s Chevrolet Volt and Bolt.
The top 20 CleanTechnica stories of the week are an interesting bunch. Check them out below to see if you read them all!
