August 2017 plug-in vehicle sales were mixed. Ford and Hyundai have not yet released their sales figures, but I must plunge ahead.
For the last two years, August has been a pretty average month for me. This August was exceptionally good, mainly due to my Bolt EV sales. Eight of my 15 sales were Bolt EVs and over half of those were not ordered for the customer. In other words, the buyers were just shopping, test drove the Bolt EV and bought it on the spot!
On the first of September, The Dallas Morning News wrote a review of the Bolt EV that was very positive. Customers showed up that day to check them out and several are turning into sales or orders.
The 2018 Volt has started production and my first 2018 Volt order was delivered. The customers drive in from Midland, Texas to get their Volts from me (this is their second one). That’s over 320 miles. I am impressed and thankful.
Here are the August 2017 sales figures, compared to the previous month:
- Chevy Volt: DOWN 5% (1,445 vs. 1,518)
- Chevy Bolt EV: UP 7% (2,107 vs. 1,971)
- Nissan Leaf: DOWN 10% (1,154 vs. 1,283)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 11% (1,820 vs. 1,645)
- Tesla Model S: UP 51% (2,150 vs. 1,425) **estimated
- Tesla Model X: DOWN 5% (1,575 vs. 1,650) **estimated
- BMW i3: DOWN 16% (504 vs. 601)
- Ford Fusion Energi: UP 8% (762 vs. 703) **awaiting sales features
- Ford C-Max Energy: DOWN 16% (705 vs. 844) **awaiting sales features
- Hyundai Ioniq Electric: UP 53% (66 vs. 43) **awaiting sales features
In August, the average price of gasoline stayed about the same as the previous month, until gasoline shortages started appearing, due to Hurricane Harvey shutting down refineries along the Texas coast. It then spiked, in the last few days of the month, driving the average price up 10 cents per gallon!
As I mentioned earlier, July 2017 marked my first Bolt EV sales. In the graph above, the largest bar for June, July and August is red, showing that the last three months are some of the best I have enjoyed in car sales. The Bolt EV has already passed up seven other vehicles I have sold, in volume. There are eighteen new vehicles I have sold in my career at Classic Chevrolet. The Bolt is already near my average number of sales, by vehicle type, and I’ve been selling it only two months so far!
My August sales were comprised of eight Bolt EVs, three Silverados, two Traverses, and two Volts. I finally sold Silverado pickups again, as well as two Volts, which continues to be my most popular vehicle, although it lost a little ground to the Silverado last month.
Plug-in sales, compared to the same month a year ago, were mixed.
- Chevy Volt: DOWN 31% (1,445 vs. 2,081)
- Chevy Bolt EV: (was not available in August 2016)
- Nissan Leaf: UP 8% (1,154 vs. 1,066)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 90,900% (1,820 vs. 2) **previous generation Prius plug-in, dying out last August
- Tesla Model S: DOWN 31% (2,150 vs. 3,125)
- Tesla Model X: DOWN 14% (1,575 vs. 1,833)
- BMW i3: DOWN 50% (504 vs. 1,013)
- Ford Fusion Energi: DOWN 46% (762 vs. 1,422)
- Ford C-Max Energi: UNCHANGED (705 vs. 707)
- Hyundai Ioniq Electric: (was not available in August 2016)
Will Classic be offering test drives of the Volt and Bolt at the Drive Electric event at Grapevine Mills Mall on Saturday, Sept 9th?
Unfortunately, there is no room or time at that venue. After it ends, we’ll have plenty of the Bolt EVs to test drive at the dealership. The following weekend, Irving is putting on a fun run. I plan to be there with Bolts to drive.
9 Bolt EVs in one month? Or 8? The top of the article says nine, but lower down it says 8.
Either way, wow thats fantastic! By the end of October you will have probably have sold 1/3 as many Bolts in just 3 months… as you sold in several years of selling the Volt!