July Plugin Sales : Leaf 395, Volt 1849, PIP 688, FFE 38

[SteveInSeattle]

It is a shame that the Ford has come in at such a high price. If we want to see EVs really take off we should see prices dropping not going up. Only the Mitsubishi seems priced to sell (beyond the early adopter demand that will pay a premium). I don't know what I would have decided to do had I been charged the new MY2012 price and not gotten the charger from the EV project-- today it would cost me almost 5K more for the same set up.

 

[Herm]

Only the Mitsubishi seems priced to sell (beyond the early adopter demand that will pay a premium).

a couple reviews mentioned that it was a bit on the cheap side.. apparently everyone has different preferences.. some will go for the Mitsubishi others will go for the Tesla. Once prices drop by about $7500 and the rebate goes away then you start to compete with ICE costs.

 

[adric22]

a couple reviews mentioned that it was a bit on the cheap side.. apparently everyone has different preferences.. some will go for the Mitsubishi others will go for the Tesla. Once prices drop by about $7500 and the rebate goes away then you start to compete with ICE costs.

Yeah - I don't personally like the Mitsubishi. Granted, if it were the only EV on the market, I'd probably buy one. But I love the high tech feel of the Leaf and the looks of the vehicle. I think Mitsubishi's EV just looks dorky on the outside, and low-tech on the inside.

 

[TomT]

And I'd have gone the opposite direction: If the Tesla and "i" were the only BEVs, I'd have bought something other than a BEV...

Yeah - I don't personally like the Mitsubishi. Granted, if it were the only EV on the market, I'd probably buy one. But I love the high tech feel of the Leaf and the looks of the vehicle. I think Mitsubishi's EV just looks dorky on the outside, and low-tech on the inside.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

a couple reviews mentioned that it was a bit on the cheap side.. apparently everyone has different preferences.. some will go for the Mitsubishi others will go for the Tesla. Once prices drop by about $7500 and the rebate goes away then you start to compete with ICE costs.

Yeah - I don't personally like the Mitsubishi. Granted, if it were the only EV on the market, I'd probably buy one. But I love the high tech feel of the Leaf and the looks of the vehicle. I think Mitsubishi's EV just looks dorky on the outside, and low-tech on the inside.

+1!!

the Prius has become iconic with its role in the automotive industry and it has only a "little" to do with its dominance in the hybrid field. the real claim to fame is their marketing strategy.

they started with putting money into the technology to get it right. so the first Priuses were sold starting at $19,995 and Toyota was widely criticized for selling the Prius at a loss. Well, the price got people in the door. it was only a few thousand more than a regular car but had a HUGE leap in technology. but it was plasticly. that was a point emphasized by other manufacturers like GM. that will come back to haunt GM big time

but the Prius was cheap enough that most of the masses could get one. then word of mouth sold the car.

fast forward to today; the Prius is not cheap. average packages run in the high 20's but still sell based on the reputation built by earlier sales. now Toyota is adding quality opts for a premium price because now the consumer accepts it. the Prius has a track record, fanboi's named Consumer's Report and Motor Trend, etc.

so, now they are looked at as a option next to a BMW. naturally the Prius is not a BMW in luxury, comfort, etc. but it now has equal value in technology and reliability. so what we have is not a great tech innovation (although it most def quailifies as one!) what we have is one of the greatest marketing campaigns of all time.

Nissan saw this like the rest of the world and instead of chiding Toyota, they emulated it instead. they started out with their iconic technology, the Leaf.

here they too concentrated on the technology and it starts again. "too plasticly" not enough glitter "can't hear the bells" etc. but at the same time, they were able to introduce a car that comes in at the mid to high 20's along with the promise that many will save up to $1000 a year in transpo costs. (the tier one states, EV highway project, etc insures initial word of mouth comes from many who have super cheap electricity (WA, OR, TN) or large percentage of solar (CA, AZ) so again GM whines that Nissan is selling Leafs at a loss.

but the Leaf is a near perfect combination of comfort and size (nearly identical to the Prius) but with the cutting edge tech.

now, granted the tech has had hiccups and Nissan partnering with other companies to provide Carwings, GPS ,etc could have been done better, but i will say that after 10 months of Leaf ownership, there is very little i would change.

i dont want a bigger battery pack because i do not want to pay for it. simple as that. i can make do and have been doing just fine, thank you very much!!

i dont want a quicker home charger because i dont want to pay for that either. 3.3 or 6.6?? like what for?? so my overnight charging is done at 1 am instead of 4 am, like i am supposed to want to pay for that?? umm..., like... PASS!!

besides 6.6 is not gonna work in public. now 80% in 30 minutes. ok, i can see that and i will pay for that (at least they gave me discount for QC port. free would be better but i am persecuted for being a renter...can i file a discrimination suit on that?) not that i would use it a lot, but i do see where it could come in handy.

i have tracked every mile driven since nov 2003. i average about 10-15 trips a year the Leaf could not do. But when QC is implemented if implemented as planned, i could do about 8 of those trips (to Salem, OR) making the Prius just about a commuter only car (which is 92% of its role now)

as far as the Focus; mistake. too much money, no track record for Ford in the technology, only have bleeding edge adopters which at $35,000 is a pretty small market.

GM; in 8 months when sales figures are compared against the Plug in Pri...well enough on that.

iMEV; cant diss a brother EV with QC too much. i think they will have a permanent market in the lower end EV commuter only segment. i also think they would do much better by lowering the price $1500-2000

 

[davewill]

besides 6.6 is not gonna work in public. now 80% in 30 minutes. ok, i can see that and i will pay for that ...

Have to strongly disagree, on that. Say I spend 2 hours at the mall or the movies. 3.3kW means I get 24 miles, 6.6kW means I get 48 miles. That's a huge difference. Even more significantly, it's becoming obvious that public charging will be priced by the hour. Besides, if what Mark Perry said was true, the cost difference between the two wasn't really significant, they just didn't get the supplier lined up in time to make the initial release.

If money had been tighter in this car purchase decision, or I lived in smaller metro area, the "i" would definitely be on my list.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

besides 6.6 is not gonna work in public. now 80% in 30 minutes. ok, i can see that and i will pay for that ...

Have to strongly disagree, on that. Say I spend 2 hours at the mall or the movies. 3.3kW means I get 24 miles, 6.6kW means I get 48 miles. That's a huge difference. Even more significantly, it's becoming obvious that public charging will be priced by the hour. Besides, if what Mark Perry said was true, the cost difference between the two wasn't really significant, they just didn't get the supplier lined up in time to make the initial release.

If money had been tighter in this car purchase decision, or I lived in smaller metro area, the "i" would definitely be on my list.

as far as charging, there is only one time that a 6.6 kw charger would have been nice and that was my 137 mile day when i met the Seattle Leaf Owners group. QC however, is a different story. there "could" have been a half dozen times it would have really come in handy including the above referenced trip. but would the current chargers be able to charge at 6.6?


i think either will have a market and i most definitely would have gotten the iMEV or even the Ford if the Leaf has not been available. the other thing we always have is buyers remorse which is magnified when the better product comes along and eventually i will have it with the Leaf.

but of all the cars on the horizon right now, i still dont have it. so if all the planned, proposed and mentioned EVs were available right now, i would still pick the Leaf. granted its hard to determine the usability or viability of vaporware but even with the bloated stats in press releases, i am still happy with my choice (the fact that its here already just makes it that much better!)

there is not a lot of tech products, especially in a newer (or revisited!!) field that can say that

 

[davewill]

... but would the current chargers be able to charge at 6.6? ...

Assuming you mean EVSEs, the answer is yes. 7.2kW (240v@30a) is what all the Blinks and Chargepoints deliver, as well as most of the home EVSEs.

 

[navidad]

Disappointing number for the Nissan in October in Japan :
529
http://logsoku.com/thread/yuzuru.2ch.net/auto/1319715240/ID:4OtPXi8A0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dgpcolorado]

Disappointing number for the Nissan in October in Japan :
529
http://logsoku.com/thread/yuzuru.2ch.net/auto/1319715240/ID:4OtPXi8A0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I thought the speculation upthread is that with the current power shortages in Japan, due to the nuclear power plant problems, buying an electric car is viewed as not PC, for the time being. If that is true, poor sales of the LEAF would not be surprising.

 

[evnow]

Disappointing number for the Nissan in October in Japan :
529
http://logsoku.com/thread/yuzuru.2ch.net/auto/1319715240/ID:4OtPXi8A0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I thought the speculation upthread is that with the current power shortages in Japan, due to the nuclear power plant problems, buying an electric car is viewed as not PC, for the time being. If that is true, poor sales of the LEAF would not be surprising.

I think it is because Nissan is now delivering in more countries - upto 13 at the moment. Statik thinks Nissan delivered about 3K carr this month.

 

[edatoakrun]

besides 6.6 is not gonna work in public. now 80% in 30 minutes. ok, i can see that and i will pay for that ...

Have to strongly disagree, on that. Say I spend 2 hours at the mall or the movies. 3.3kW means I get 24 miles, 6.6kW means I get 48 miles. That's a huge difference...

Only if your round trip to the mall or movie, is over (about) 100 miles.

And if that trip to the movie is over (about) 124 miles, R/T, you will wish you had DC.

Doubling the 3.3 kWh charge rate, would be an improvement.

But a 1,000% increase in the roadside charge rate, can make the BEV the primary vehicle, for most all drivers.

 

[evnow]

Here is some interesting info on Volt ordering. BTW, there is a dealer near Seattle who is actually offering $100 below invoice on Volts ordered from factory.

Essentially, you could have a bunch of people waiting for their Volts & another bunch sitting at the dealer because the dealer wants a $4K premium.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9349-Another-potential-new-owner-Washington-State/page3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The order system is weird... by placing my order now, I'm not necessarily at the end of the line. My understanding is: As factory production ramps up, the dealerships would get additional allocations for Volts in a given month. But when this happens, the pre-orders already in the system are not "moved up". That is - somebody whose pre-order is slated for February will still be for February, even if the dealer receives additional Volt slots for January.

A side consequence of this is that, if an allotment comes up and there's no customer pre-order for it, the dealership may end up getting a car on the lot available for somebody to walk in and buy before all the pre-orders are filled. Or that a later order may get matched up to a fresh allocation, and end up being delivered earlier than an order placed earlier.

Anyway - apparently Lee Johnson received two extra Volts for December that (as of this morning) have not yet been spoken for. A red one and a white one, both with leather interior and enough options to push them up around $45K MSRP.

 

[Jay]

Disappointing number for the Nissan in October in Japan :
529
http://logsoku.com/thread/yuzuru.2ch.net/auto/1319715240/ID:4OtPXi8A0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I thought the speculation upthread is that with the current power shortages in Japan, due to the nuclear power plant problems, buying an electric car is viewed as not PC, for the time being. If that is true, poor sales of the LEAF would not be surprising.

I think it is because Nissan is now delivering in more countries - upto 13 at the moment. Statik thinks Nissan delivered about 3K carr this month.

It is for sure.

It is fricken hard to track total international deliveries (you can, but I am certianly not going to spend the time), I was told that Nissan delivered more cars outside Japan/US this past month than they had since they started producing the LEAF.

Considering they had already shipped out a little over 1,100 cars thru September (I don't recall the exact number) to 'not' Japan and 'not' US...thats a lot to new markets.

 

[charlestonleafer]

Here is some interesting info on Volt ordering. BTW, there is a dealer near Seattle who is actually offering $100 below invoice on Volts ordered from factory.

Essentially, you could have a bunch of people waiting for their Volts & another bunch sitting at the dealer because the dealer wants a $4K premium.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9349-Another-potential-new-owner-Washington-State/page3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The order system is weird... by placing my order now, I'm not necessarily at the end of the line. My understanding is: As factory production ramps up, the dealerships would get additional allocations for Volts in a given month. But when this happens, the pre-orders already in the system are not "moved up". That is - somebody whose pre-order is slated for February will still be for February, even if the dealer receives additional Volt slots for January.

A side consequence of this is that, if an allotment comes up and there's no customer pre-order for it, the dealership may end up getting a car on the lot available for somebody to walk in and buy before all the pre-orders are filled. Or that a later order may get matched up to a fresh allocation, and end up being delivered earlier than an order placed earlier.

Anyway - apparently Lee Johnson received two extra Volts for December that (as of this morning) have not yet been spoken for. A red one and a white one, both with leather interior and enough options to push them up around $45K MSRP.

They're not charging over MSRP here, they're sitting on all of the local lots http://www.rickhendrickchevy.com/chevrolet-volt/

 

[evnow]

They're not charging over MSRP here, they're sitting on all of the local lots http://www.rickhendrickchevy.com/chevrolet-volt/

Personally I don't expect much Volt sales in SC - Seattle, I do expect some.

 

[evnow]

It is fricken hard to track total international deliveries (you can, but I am certianly not going to spend the time), I was told that Nissan delivered more cars outside Japan/US this past month than they had since they started producing the LEAF.

Yes - it is very difficult to track deliveries outside US/Japan. I've just seen some scattered numbers once in a while.

 

[charlestonleafer]

They're not charging over MSRP here, they're sitting on all of the local lots http://www.rickhendrickchevy.com/chevrolet-volt/

Personally I don't expect much Volt sales in SC - Seattle, I do expect some.

I wouldn't think we would sell much of anything "green" :lol: But I thought people from out of state might come and get them, especially if the demand is what GM makes it out to be

 

[evnow]

I wouldn't think we would sell much of anything "green" :lol: But I thought people from out of state might come and get them, especially if the demand is what GM makes it out to be

I know a couple who got their Leaf from TX (but only because they didn't search everywhere near by for MSRP Volts).

I think in some places where a dealer got just one or two allocations, the dealer will try to get a premium. Just natural ...

 

[daggad]

It is fricken hard to track total international deliveries (you can, but I am certianly not going to spend the time), I was told that Nissan delivered more cars outside Japan/US this past month than they had since they started producing the LEAF.

Yes - it is very difficult to track deliveries outside US/Japan. I've just seen some scattered numbers once in a while.

As I have stated earlier. The Leaf was officially introduced in Norway oct 8th. On the oct 11th more than 600 was sold. And they are beeing delivered in huge numbers here now. And remember we are a tiny country.. (4,5mill polulation). I am quite sure the Leaf will sell in the area of 2000 cars in Norway next year.
First half of 2011 the sales of EV's in Norway was 192 per million people. Japan 53/mill, USA 25/mill. These 3 countries are the top EV selling countries in the world.