Volt

With a presidential election and a deadly hurricane hogging the headlines, it’s perhaps understandable that the major national news media have ignored the most important story: all three of the mass-market plug-in vehicles broke sales records in October, while also topping the Consumer Reports customer reliability survey.

Once again the Chevrolet Volt leads the plug-in pack. The American-made PHEV sold 2,961 units in October, the third straight month of new all-time highs. Year-to-date sales are 19,309.

Toyota sold 1,889 Prius Plug-Ins in October, a new monthly record and a modest improvement over September’s 1,652 units.

The Nissan LEAF moved 1,579 units in October, vindicating CEO Carlos Ghosn’s prediction of a “dramatic” improvement for the month. More attractive lease terms may have been responsible for the upswing. Nissan is now producing batteries in Smyrna, Tennessee, and eMotors in Dechard, Tennessee. Nissan spokesperson Katherine Zachery told InsideEVs that US-made 2013 LEAFs will start rolling off the line in December.

Tesla does not give out monthly figures, but CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla had completed the 1000th Model S body, and produced more cars this month than in the entire rest of the year. That’s encouraging news for those of us anxiously waiting to see if the Silicon Valley startup can ramp up production quickly enough to clear its backlog of orders.

Fisker also does not report monthly sales, but the company said in October that it has sold more than 2,000 Karmas worldwide.

None of the other handful of production EVs cracked the triple digits (unsurprisingly, as none have done any advertising that we’re aware of). However, InsideEVs reported that some Ford dealerships are offering to lease the Focus Electric at $199/month, matching Nissan’s terms for the LEAF, so perhaps Ford is now at least thinking about marketing the new EV that it was so proud to develop.

Toyota’s new RAV4 EV is currently only available at select California dealers, but nonetheless managed to sell 61 units in September, and 47 in October.

Source: InsideEVs
Images: Nissan, GM

The Cadillac ELR, a luxury PHEV, will go into production in late 2013, GM’s North American President Mark Reuss announced at an industry conference in Detroit on Tuesday. The ELR, which is based on the Cadillac Converj concept introduced at the Detroit auto show in 2009, will go on sale in the US soon after production begins.

Reuss said the corded Caddy “will be in a class by itself, further proof of our commitment to electric vehicles and advanced technology. People will instantly recognize it as a Cadillac by its distinctive, signature look and true-to-concept exterior design. It won’t be for everybody. I can tell you there will be a lot of people who wouldn’t buy a Chevrolet that have a lot of money that want to buy a Cadillac as a statement.”

GM offered no technical details for the ELR, but has said that it will operate much like the Volt, and will also be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. Adding ELR production at “D-Ham” represents a $35 million investment, and brings the company’s total investment in the plant to $561 million since 2009. GM has said that its major investment in developing the Volt will begin to pay off as it introduces more PHEVs such as the ELR.

Meanwhile, production of the Volt and Ampera resumed on Monday after being suspended for four weeks.

Source: Reuters
Image: Cadillac

Are there actually Republicans who are in favor of plug-in vehicles? Well, Bob Lutz, the conservative GM exec who oversaw the development of the Volt, and President George W Bush, who signed the federal plug-in tax credit into law, come to mind. But more recently, opposition to EVs seems to be a solid plank in the party’s platform. Governor Romney mentioned Fisker and Tesla in last week’s presidential debate, and not in admiration. Attitudes towards the Chevy Volt among most Fox News commentators range from ridicule to visceral hatred.

GM has developed an app that lets Volt owners keep track of how much it costs to charge their batteries, as well as how their EV charging costs compare with their total home energy consumption. The new EcoHub app, which works through GM’s OnStar telematics program, will be tested by residents of the Pecan Street demonstration project in Austin, Texas.

“For the first time we're able to put one of our Smart Grid solutions into the hands of actual consumers, thanks in part to our partnership with Pecan Street,” said GM’s Paul Pebbles. “Down the line, we hope this app can be a beneficial tool for all drivers of electric vehicles.”

EcoHub pulls overall home energy usage data from a utility or smart meter company, and collects Volt charging information from OnStar subscribers and Volt owners who opt in. The data is then aggregated to show vehicle owners how much energy is being used on a daily, monthly or yearly basis, and the percentage of that energy that went to charging the Volt.

“We've found that Volt owners love to keep track of and compare their personal driving stats, like electric miles driven for example,” said Volt Marketing Director Cristi Landy. “The EcoHub app is another great example of using the vehicle's embedded technology to provide Volt owners with useful information.”

It’s that time again - September sales figures are in. Overall EV sales are up, and the standings remain the same.The Chevy Volt sold 2,851 units, a slight improvement over August’s all time record of 2,831, for a year-to-date total of 16,348. The Volt’s Hamtramck assembly line will remain idle until October 15th.

Toyota’s Prius Plug-In scored 1,652, a healthy improvement on August’s 1,047 and almost a tie with April, its best month ever. 7,734 PPIs have been sold to date.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s prediction of a September sales surge came true, as 984 LEAFs found homes - the best month ever for the US’s only mass-market pure EV. Year-to-date sales are 5,212. The company is now producing batteries at its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, and the company expects to be building LEAFs there by December.

Tesla doesn’t release monthly sales figures, but the company reported that 255 units of the Model S had been produced through September 23rd. Tesla’s challenge is not sales, but production, as it has a backlog of orders.

Fisker also doesn’t release monthly sales figures, but CEO Tony Posawatz said in a speech on Monday, “On the retail sales front, we beat our forecasts for September,” and added that the company has sold over 1,000 Karmas this year.

Once again, the Honda Fit EV and Ford Focus Electric sold mere double digits for the month. Neither company seems to be making any effort to market its EVs.

We don’t know what to say about the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. They are available around the country (yes, on dealer’s lots, ready to buy), but continue to sell only a few dozen a month in the US, although sales in Europe have been substantial.

Images: Chevrolet, Nissan