Another month has come and gone and it’s time to tally the results. As promised, I have removed the Mitsubishi i-ImEV from the charts. Its sales continued to decline in September, and it is really not a player, compared to the Volt or Leaf.
The Chevy Volt’s sales declined by 46%, compared to the previous month (1,766 vs. 3,351). The decline was not enough to take the Volt below the historical sales rate of the original Toyota Prius. The Volt’s lead declined, but at this point, the lead is still there by a whisker-thin margin of only 36 cars. The Leaf also declined, albeit not as much. The Leaf’s decline, compared to the previous month was only 19% (1,953 vs. 2,420). I’m sensing a trend here, because the Plug-in Prius also showed a drop of 36%, compared to the previous month (1,152 vs. 1,791). Gasoline prices declined steadily through the month, averaging about $3.51 per gallon. That’s the lowest average price since April and by the end of September, it was down to about $3.42 per gallon. Could the month-long decline of about 21 cents per gallon have been a part of the decline in electric vehicle sales? Did the astoundingly high sales figures (and heavy discounts) in August drain the market of ready buyers? Did everyone start concentrating on the “Back to School” sales and getting the kiddos out of the house?
Our traditional car comparison model, the Chevrolet Corvette, showed a healthy 27% gain over the previous month (831 vs. 655), but continues to post sales at about half the pace of the Volt or Leaf. It does seem odd that the three EVs I’m tracking all showed healthy declines in sales but the Corvette increased. Could this be caused by the sudden decline in gas prices? Are buyers really that fickle? Does anyone think that the decline in gas prices is a long-term trend?
I know there are plenty of 2013 Volts out there and the dealers (and GM) are very motivated to get them out of the way for the incoming 2014 models, which have already started to arrive. The announced price drop on the 2014’s may have had some waiting for their arrival, but the 2013’s now have equivalent discounts available and are essentially the same car. No additional electric range capability is there, so why not opt for the 2013?
Here are the sales charts. Enjoy!
Didn’t Corvette come out with a new for 2014 version of the car. I’m sure that would boost sales quite a bit.
Now that you mention it, you may be right. I saw them being test-driven at the State Fair of Texas. The rear end of the ‘Vette is truly stunning. It’s a shame it runs on gas…
I heard a financial analyst today say that the “traditional” Labor Day weekend sales were included in August sales figures, because of how the holiday fell on this year’s calendar. That might explain the high numbers in August, and sharp declines in September.