Posted on 01/10/2015 9:32:02 AM PST by LogicDesigner
Plug-in electric car sales for calendar year 2014 rose above the 100,000 level, the third annual increase in full-year sales in the U.S. since modern electric cars first went on sale in December 2010.
The highest-selling electric car in the world, the Nissan Leaf, set a new U.S. record for plug-in sales of a single vehicle in one year, logging 30,200 deliveries during 2014.
That compares to a 2013 total of 22,610, and less than 10,000 units in each of its first two years on sale.
The balance of 70,000-plus was made up of sales of no fewer than 20 other cars with plugs.
(We also note that Hyundai leased 54 of its hydrogen-powered Tucson Fuel Cell crossover utility vehicles. Honda delivered 2 FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicles as well this year, against 10 leased in 2013.)
The bulk of them, however, remain quite low-volume, selling 250 or fewer units per month.
Only a small number of plug-in electric cars routinely racks up U.S. sales of 1,000 or more units a month.
The others include the Chevrolet Volt and the Tesla Model S. More recently, the BMW i3 sales hit that level for three months last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at greencarreports.com ...
“your first 40 miles every day are electric “
Translates to 1-2 gallons and it isn’t free.
Hybrids are popular for that reason - it combines the best of EV and conventional gas powered cars.
If you need to drive anywhere more than hour, that’s the one you want.
I would trade battery capacity for faster recharge times. I think the engineers are not attacking the correct problem. If could only go 100 miles between charges but I could recharge in 5 minutes then that would be ok with me. The 6-8 hour recharge is BS I don’t care how far you can go.
That used to be the drawback.
Now with smart charger technology, you can recharge the car in an hour.
Plenty of time to eat lunch or dinner leisurely while your car gets topped off.
Way too long for our ADD society.
I want one.
Its a cool EV.
But you pay the BMW premium for one.
Prius has the option now of being a “plug-in” hybrid, which greatly extends the electric-only range to the point that it’s possible to seldom use the gasoline engine for local driving. The cost of this option is fairly high, and so it hasn’t sold especially well.
Toyota also makes a hybrid full-size Avalon sedan now. Big, cushy, leather interior, nice car. 40 mpg city, 39 highway. I know a few people who have one, those EPA numbers are reportedly pretty accurate for once. Drive it like you rented it and it’s still tough to get it to dip below 38 mpg. Only complaints I’ve heard are the typically grabby regenerative brakes with a slight whirr or whine when applied that take some getting accustomed to (they all do it apparently), accelerator pedal application that takes some getting accustomed to (again, they’re all like that but the Avalon has multiple settings at least), and under very hard acceleration you can tell it’s a four, it becomes audible.
I’ve been watching for an off lease return of either one or a certified used resale, thinking of getting one or the other while the resale value is depressed due to gas prices declining. I don’t think for one second that it’s going to last. You can find a 2013 Avalon hybrid in the low 20’s. Plug-in Prius is uncommon enough that I can’t really say what it would command.
The S model starts at 70 grand, so not cheap.
It’s beautiful and stunningly fast.
I only know one person who owns a Tesla S, similarly one Leaf owner.
They are both enthusiastic, I believe the true test will come when they go to purchase another car, will they make a repeat buy?
You appear to be a fan, and eventually your enthusiasm will be justified. However, the electric car is not where it needs to be for me to buy one.
As for the Volt, it and all GM cars are off my list forever. The GM bankruptcy was shockingly corrupt and would/should have been illegal is GM didn’t have connections, and I am boycotting that company forever because of the corruption. I won’t even accept a GM as a rental. I might consider a Ford, Toyota, Honda, or VW electric vehicle eventually, but GM is dead to me.
I smell BS.
Didn’t we see a thread recently on FR regarding declining interest in electric cars?
And didn’t Obola give his Detroit “speech” the other day at a Ford plant that is idled for several weeks due to low fuel prices damping down interest in electric cars?
If the info in this thread was EVER true, it’s old and stale, pertaining to conditions prior to the recent plunge in crude $$....As I See It.
$136,000 and it’s yours. After making goals for 12 months, my company will pay me $500 a month towards a BMW, but I’m sure payments would be much higher than that.
You can charge any electric car overnight in your garage. For long trips, then yes, I agree a car like the Nissan Leaf with an 84 mile range is ill-advised. They are better suited as a commuter car in a two-car household.
For long trips you will either need an expensive Tesla Model S with its 265 mile range or a more affordable extended range electric car like the Chevy Volt with its 40 mile electric range followed by 340 mile gasoline range.
Gas prices won’t stay low forever.
The hybrid/EV market is here to stay.
A new study says those plug-in vehicles can be making the air dirtier and worsening global warming depending on where you’re getting the electricity to charge that vehicle.
KCBS Anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell spoke with study co-author Julian Marshall, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota.
That's an excellent point. Daily commuting could be done on a single charge. If longer trips could be accomplished with a rest break every hour or so on the road that might be a good selling point. But the rest break would have to be reasonable and not significantly impact the total trip time. Stopping for 5, even 10 minutes to recharge the car and discharge the bladder is reasonable. Having to kill and hour to charge for another hour's drive is not.
The kinds of duty cycles you're talking about are probably getting close. That kind of capability (and reasonable initial cost and cost per mile) would make me look at an EV.
The BMW i3 and Mercedes B class are in the $33-55,000 range, before tax credits, I believe.
Ridiculous.
I bought a Ford C Max hybrid but did not get the plug in. I average about 41 MPG total. For some reason it is much better around town than on the interstate when the average drops to about 36.
I ran into a C Max plug in owner a couple of weeks ago and asked him what his mileage was. He said around 75, but that was because he charged his car to go to work about 20 miles away but couldn’t charge it there for the return trip. If he could, he’d be averaging about 100 MPG.
The best part about owning the C Max hybrid is the maintenace or lack there of. I opened the owner’s manual when I bought it, expecting to see the typical extensive maintenance checklist, and all it said was to change oil every 10,000 miles.
It has great acceleration, and I’ve learned to accelerate quickly from a standing stop to the speed limit and then back off when I reach the speed limit. I love the car.
If it doesn’t make noise, forget about it.
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