As the Tesla Model 3 gains significant production volume, with most of the 2018 deliveries going to US customers, other players in the US small and midsize luxury car segment look set to see their sales halved in Q3 and Q4.
The Tesla Model 3 continues to open up its lead over every other plug-in car on the US market. For all the hype about a slower than projected Model 3 production ramp up, it seems there isn’t another plug-in vehicle that comes within two laps of touching it. It sits at about triple the sales of the #2 Toyota Prius Prime (a plug-in hybrid) and nearly 4 × the sales of all 7 of BMW Group’s plug-in models combined.
After chatting with a few satisfied new owners of the Chevy Bolt this month, I thought, perhaps it is time to try for a test drive again. Last year, I gave up exploring diverse comparisons to my much appreciated all-electric 2015 Nissan LEAF. I had a hard time finding a variety of EVs at dealerships. The only companies really offering them seemed to be BMW, Nissan, Chevy, Porsche, and Tesla. So, the test drive experience was short — I tried the Volt and the Prius Prime. There simply were not other EVs available for test drives in Sarasota, Florida.
When consumers walk into a US car dealership and have a choice of buying either an electric or internal combustion engine (ICE) powered version of the same model, what percentage opt for the BEV or PHEV version? The short answer is 9.8% on average.
After the usual off-season (January and February), the Chinese plug-in vehicle (PEV) market is back at full charge, with 71,000 units registered in April, up 129% year over year (YoY). Overall, 2018 sales have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.
Sales of BMW’s electrified vehicles were up strongly in the first quarter of 2018, with China leading the way with more than a 600% increase.
PEV Fever has definitely caught on in Germany, with April signaling 5,700 registrations, a 61% increase year over year (YoY). As a result, the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) share climbed to 2.2% of the broader passenger vehicle market.
The new 2018 Nissan LEAF has hit a sweet spot of range and price, with its 40kWh battery providing 151 miles of EPA-rated range at a bargain price of $29,995. In many markets, rebates bring this figure down well into the low $20,000s range, making it arguably the most affordable long-range fully electric vehicle.
We’re glad to see we’re not the only ones impressed with the amazing Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV). We reported in January that it had just passed 100,000 sales in Europe. Now we get news that it is still the top best-selling plug-in vehicle in the UK, and there is a reason of 10 for that.
It’s easy to get hoodwinked by recent reports surrounding Tesla. Is Elon Musk really in dire straits based on such an abundance of negative Tesla press? Motley Fool’s Daniel Sparks argues that, while there “are items that might look like good reasons to be skeptical … one facet of Tesla’s business investors shouldn’t be concerned about is Model 3 demand.” To that end, Sparks lays out “seven reasons investors shouldn’t worry about demand for Model 3.”
