December 2016 Sales Numbers

In December 2016, plug-in vehicle sales were up, except for one model I track. As with most other vehicles, this is to be expected in the last month of the year, when year-end deals get cranking. Many EV buyers in December are focused on one other thing: The Federal Income Tax Credit. A lot of my Volt customers, in December, mentioned the tax credit. Some even mentioned worrying, that with Trump as President and both houses of Congress controlled by the Republican Party, that the tax credit would be eliminated.

The BMW i8 is obviously a small-volume vehicle, so I’ve decided to stop tracking its sales performance, as the numbers have been too small, in relation to the other vehicles I am tracking. There’s another reason though. It is because…drum roll…there’s a new EV to track, the Chevrolet Bolt EV! The Bolt EV, has received a lot of media attention, as it is the first EV with a range of over 200 miles per charge, to be priced below $60K…well below. The Bolt EV received Green Car Reports’ “Best Car to Buy” award and Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year.” It also has beaten the Tesla Model 3 to market by at least a year, although that has not seemed to affect consumer interest in the Tesla, which has over 400,000 reservations. (General Motors has not allowed reservations for the Bolt, and is only offering it in California and Oregon, so we won’t know much about Bolt demand for a while) One note of interest: At 579 units sold, the Bolt EV had the best debut month total, for any vehicle I track.

The next couple years in the EV business should prove very interesting, with great, affordable options becoming available. Families are starting to buy their second or third plug-in vehicle, so they are more informed and require less effort to sell them a vehicle. Here’s hoping for a great “tipping point” year for EVs!

Here are the December 2016 sales figures, compared to the previous month:

• Chevy Volt: UP 46% (3,691 vs. 2,531) *highest monthly sales EVER!
• Chevy Bolt EV: DEBUT (579) **only in CA & OR
• Nissan Leaf: UP 30% (1,899 vs. 1,457)
• Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 110% (1,641 vs. 781)
• Tesla Model S: UP 318% (5,850 vs. 1,400) **estimated
• BMW i3: UP 26% (791 vs. 629)
• Ford Fusion Energi: DOWN 40% (1,099 vs. 1,817)
• Ford C-Max Energy: UP 78% (1,289 vs. 721)

In December, the average price of gasoline rose, pretty steadily in the U.S., all month long, to $2.34 per gallon.December was an incredibly busy month for me. GM’s new practice of issuing “Bonus Tag” discounts on specific VINs, caused consumers to have to shop around much more or required dealers to trade vehicles with other dealers, to obtain a tagged unit. The discounts were up to 20% off, making a tagged vehicle a much more compelling deal. On top of scrambling to locate tagged units, management of the dealership offered the salespeople the chance to gamble on themselves and select a monthly bonus goal (and corresponding bonus amount, if attained) for December. My highest monthly unit sales totaled 14 vehicles. I knew I would have heavy Volt traffic, so I went out on a limb and selected 20 units as my goal. I sold 21 vehicles, giving me a new best month, and since General Motors’ month ended on January 3rd, my GM monthly total was 23. It was a great, hectic month and I was so exhausted that I slept most of New Year’s Day!My sales, by vehicle, included eight Volts, easily the most I’ve ever sold in a single month, but only one Silverado 1500 (my first since October). I have now sold nine more Volts than Silverado 1500s, over my 3+ years selling vehicles. Even more shocking, in 2016, I sold 12 Silverados and 27 Volts. That reversed my 2015 trend, which resulted in 25 Silverados and only 11 Volts. In Texas, this is referred to as an “anomaly.” Two reasons for this would be: 1) the 2016 Volt was not offered in or around Texas, so there was pent-up Volt demand, and 2) end-of-tax-credit fears (see above).

Plug-in sales, compared to the same month a year ago, were mixed:

• Chevy Volt: UP 75% (3,691 vs. 2,114)
• Chevy Bolt EV: DEBUT
• Nissan Leaf: UP 41% (1,899 vs. 1,347)
• Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 7,359% (1641 vs. 22) **very small number from last December…
• Tesla Model S: UP 62% (5,850 vs. 3,600)
• BMW i3: DOWN 44% (791 vs. 1,422)
• Ford Fusion Energi: UP 4% (1,099 vs. 1,058)
• Ford C-Max Energi: UP 122% (1,289 vs. 579)