**Update** I have added the i MiEV to the monthly charts.
Well, the new sales figures have been released for April 2013 and as you can see in the chart below, sales dropped across al four models I’m tracking. Could it be that income tax had something to do with that?
I have also been asked if I can produce a graph correlating the price of gasoline to EV sales. I have contacted GasBuddy.com to see about getting the data, or a custom formatted graph, for this purpose. In the meantime, I have some rough gas price numbers and have used them to generate the gas plot. To put the price on a scale where it would appear usefully in the chart, the price graph is based on the price of 600 gallons of gas. (You can imagine, a graph line that varies between 2.8 and 4.7 would be a flat line at the bottom of the graph)
The Chevy Volt’s (1,306) sales declined for the 2nd month in a row, as did the Corvette (974). The Leaf (1,937) declined slightly, but still posted its 2nd best month ever, following last month’s blow out number. Nissan’s pricing strategy seems to be paying off. Even the Plug-in Prius joined the sales decline party.
GM, on the other hand, has a CEO (Dan Akerson) who states about Volts, that they’re “losing money on every one.” Perhaps GM is starting to feel pressure from the Leaf’s new pricing strategy, as Akerson goes on to say, “This next generation, we think we can decrease the price on the order of $7,000 to $10,000.”
Hmmm… Let’s put pencil to paper on this. My $41,000 Volt (list price), dropping to $32,500 (I averaged Dan’s estimated price drop figures). Apply the federal income tax credit of $7,500 and it’s down to $25,000. Then subtract Texas’ forward-looking tax credit of, uh, ZERO. (come on, Texas! I mean really. NASA’s here for gosh sakes!) Anyway, a $25,000, nicely equipped Volt for the price of a Ford Focus ST. At 5% interest, the monthly payment on a $25,000 loan is around $472. (I’m currently leasing mine for 3 years, 15,000 miles per year at $330 per month.) Subtract the energy cost savings (compared to a 22 MPG average, gas-powered car, I’m currently saving $230 per month) and you have an effective monthly payment of $242, to purchase a Volt, instead of leasing it like me.
Of course, I like the primer on automotive profitability offered by Bob Lutz. He states that, the Volt is “still under water” but not by much. In fact, he believes it is on the cusp of “a positive gross margin.”
Recently, I saw a news site debate about the high price of EVs where someone mentioned that the original VCRs were priced at over $1,000. This was said to illustrate how, once manufacturing kinks get worked out an economies of scale kick in, that items that were once high priced become affordable for the masses. This was disputed by a man saying, “VCRs never cost $1,000.” That was it for me. I had to register on the site and let the guy know that I had purchased the second Betamax model offered by Sony and the price tag WAS $1,300!
Did I feel ripped off, when later purchasers were able to acquire a Betamax for $500? $200? No, of course not! Part of my “thing” is that I’m an early adopter. When people bought their VCRs, years after my first purchase, I had amassed a large library of movies and home videos that were important to me.
I’ll admit that I too was as shortsighted as the gentleman deriding EVs. I can vividly remember telling a friend, back in the early 1980’s, that “VCRs will never cost less than $500. They’re just too complex.”
Recent achievements in materials science, including the development of 1 atom thick sheets of graphene, will have major impacts in battery and solar power technologies. Reduction of charging time and a major increase in energy storage capability will accelerate the adoption of EVs unbelievably. Can you imagine anyone being able to resist an EV when charging time is like filling up with gas? And they can do it at HOME?
How did you get your Volt to Grand Cayman?
Air lifted it in. Seal Team 6.