March 2017 plug-in vehicle sales increased across the board, in the vehicles I track. Last year, March was my best month is sales, until December blew all my sales numbers up. In 2017 March was much more reserved and traffic was light.
Here are the March 2017 sales figures, compared to the previous month:
- Chevy Volt: UP 17% (2,132 vs. 1,820)
- Chevy Bolt EV: UP 3% (978 vs. 952)
- Nissan Leaf: UP 43% (1,478 vs. 1,037)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 23% (1,682 vs. 1,362)
- Tesla Model S: UP 97% (3,450 vs. 1,750) **estimated
- BMW i3: UP 121% (703 vs. 318)
- Ford Fusion Energi: UP 20% (1,002 vs. 837)
- Ford C-Max Energy: UP 4% (662 vs. 639)
In March, the average price of gasoline languished for most of the month, finally starting to climb around the 27th, finishing the month at $2.32. The price began to rise quickly, after March 26th and continued to do so, into April.
Adoption curves (lower of the two charts immediately above) show the continued rise of the Tesla Model S, The Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Leaf sales are being driven by huge discounts, on the current model, while waiting for the next generation Leaf. The Plug-in Prius (now Prius Prime) is showing life again, after a long stagnancy while the market awaited the new model. I still just don’t understand the sales volume of the Prius, but believe it has to do with the reputation of the Prius moniker more than a direct comparison of features/EV range.
I only had six sales for the month, including two Traverse SUVs and one Volt. I did not sell a single pickup, so the Volt continues to rise as my most popular vehicle.
Plug-in sales, compared to the same month a year ago, were up with only two exceptions, the Tesla Model S and the Ford Fusion Energi.
- Chevy Volt: UP 14% (2,132 vs. 1,865)
- Chevy Bolt EV: (was not available in March 2016)
- Nissan Leaf: UP 19% (1,478 vs. 1,246)
- Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 23,929% (1,682 vs. 7) **previous generation Prius plug-in, dying out last March
- Tesla Model S: DOWN 14% (3,450 vs. 3,990)
- BMW i3: UP 112% (703 vs. 332)
- Ford Fusion Energi: DOWN 19% (1,002 vs. 1,238)
- Ford C-Max Energi: UP 9% (662 vs. 610)
The Bolt might be selling like hotcakes if it was widely available.
Same with the Hyundai Sonata PHEV. A friend found a dealer in Houston with eight of them (he claimed he had to sneak them in, whatever that means), and she bought one.
I have a client who has been trying to get a Bolt EV from California. For a while there GM had stopped sales to non-released states, but that may have eased/ended. In any case, it is EXTREMELY frustrating to those of us doing everything we can to promote the Bolt EV, but not able to sell one.
The Leaf and Prius Prime sales didn’t seem to make much sense to me… since they’re clearly inferior offerings to the Volt and Bolt. But the Prime is so cheap from the start, and the leaf is so heavily discounted, that I guess it’s no surprise they are selling well at the moment.
More competition seems to be “fueling” higher sales for almost all offerings! That’s great to see. This month should be the first big one for the Bolt, I think. Wider availability and higher inventories this month. And the leasing rates for the Bolt are on par with a mid-trim volt. Definitely affordable at around $400 a month.
I attribute the Prius prime sales figures to the excellent reputation the non-plug-in Prius. That being said, with the EV range as limited as it is, the acceleration/performance so poor and the Federal Income Tax being lower than the Volt’s, I expect this to fade as more people learn about Volt.