In July 2015, the plug-in market was on a bit of a rebound, mostly up and one by quite a bit, from the previous month:
- Chevy Volt: UP 7% (1,313 vs. 1,225)
- Nissan Leaf: DOWN 43% (1,174 vs. 2,074)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 26% (584 vs. 464)
- Cadillac ELR: UP 6% (66 vs. 62)
- BMW i3: UP 70% (935 vs. 551)
- BMW i8: UP 58% (217 vs. 137)
- Ford Fusion Energi: UP 17% (852 vs. 727)
- Ford C-Max Energi: UP 4% (693 vs. 667)
The price of gasoline remained steady through the first half of the month and then began a nose dive, ending the month around $2.65. Because it had remained steady for the first half, the average (shown on the top chart) just shows a mild decline, averaging $2.73 for the month. Although the Chevy Volt’s sales dropped in June, compared to a recent high in May, sales crept back up a bit, making it the leader for the month (at least of the vehicles I track). My view from inside the dealership is that dealers, in low-demand areas especially, are dropping prices precipitously, to move the current model out, before the new one starts production later this month. The Nissan Leaf took a major hit, dropping a whopping 43% and falling behind the Volt, in monthly sales volume, for the first time, since October 2013! As you can see, in the lower chart, the Leaf (blue curve) has been steadily gaining on the Volt (green curve), since recovering from the early heat-related battery issues which kept me from getting one as my first plug-in vehicle. Perhaps, with all the rumors about the next-gen Leaf, buyers are starting to have that “new iPhone wait-and-see” attitude…
July’s sales figures show the Volt gaining a little ground, for all-time sales since inception. The Leaf’s lead over the Volt has been trimmed to 3,291 units, down from a high of 3,430 units. The Plug-in Prius after a huge drop last month rebounded to 584 units or an increase of 26% over June’s total. However, don’t get too excited. It hasn’t topped 1,000 units in a month for a year now. The Cadillac, rebounded as well, with an increase of 6%, but in its 20th month of availability, its sales numbers have never been above 200 in a single month. The BMW i3 had a significant increase after a big drop reported the previous month: it’s up 70%! The BMW i8 also had a big increase of 58%. Ford’s numbers on the Fusion Energi and the C-Max Energi increased as well. The Fusion by 17% and the C-Max by 4%.
Sales, compared to the same month a year ago, are an inverse of what we saw, when comparing to one month ago. In this case, only one vehicle showed an increase! Of course, one year ago, gasoline prices were just coming off a high point, and now, they’re climbing up from a low point reached in January.
- Chevy Volt: DOWN 35% (1,313 vs. 2,020)
- Nissan Leaf: DOWN 39% (1,174 vs. 3,019)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: DOWN 43% (584 vs. 1,371) “Ask not for whom the bell tolls…”
- Cadillac ELR: DOWN 65% (66 vs. 188)
- BMW i3: UP 158% (935 vs. 363)
- BMW i8: (did not exist a year ago, but next month we’ll have a number to compare against)
- Ford Fusion Energi: DOWN 31% (852 vs. 1,226)
- Ford C-Max Energi: DOWN 17% (693 vs. 831)
With all the rumors of a significant increase in range, prospective new Leaf buyers are almost certainly waiting for details about the 2d gen. Leaf before making a decision. Also, used Leaf prices are so unbelievably low, some buyers may have gone to the used market.