2013 June Plugin Sales Discussion : Leaf 2225 ; Volt 2698

[Jay]

Honda fit ev is 208 if that is of interest

zero mileage leases = big hit

...oh yeah, and 42 on the new most boringest (technical term) car to report sales on, the Accord PHEV

 

[evnow]

...oh yeah, and 42 on the new most boringest (technical term) car to report sales on, the Accord PHEV

It is not clear what Honda's idea of selling the Accord PHEV is. Obviously their numbers don't justify all the investment they must have made - even from a CARB/ZEV perspective.

 

[Jay]

...oh yeah, and 42 on the new most boringest (technical term) car to report sales on, the Accord PHEV

It is not clear what Honda's idea of selling the Accord PHEV is. Obviously their numbers don't justify all the investment they must have made - even from a CARB/ZEV perspective.

It is an odd duck. I don't fully understand the strategy myself. Honda has made it available in Japan as a lease only as part of their commercial fleet program. They really don't have any reason to do that...other than maybe to eat up some production allocation. /not sure

 

[Jay]

Prius was 584

...also I talked to the Chevy rep this morning to get Spark EV numbers (wasn't in their official release this AM)

27 sold in first month

http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-spark-ev-finally-arrives-first-27-sold-in-june/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(also did a little "sales scorecard" for all 8 pure EVs debut month on the market)

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

LEAF sales still disappointing in my book. 2500 aint gonna cut it. gotta ramp to at least 5-6,000 a month and that is just to start. With the lease deals that are out right now, the supplies have to still be restricting "sales" and I say that because from what I read, its looking to be roughly 80/20 lease verses sales

 

[smkettner]

So how many days inventory of LEAF at dealers?

 

[cwerdna]

Prius was 584

You're talking about the PiP, right? Prius family sales every month are FAR greater than that.

 

[evnow]

Prius was 584

You're talking about the PiP, right? Prius family sales every month are FAR greater than that.

Yes - that would be PIP.

 

[dm33]

So how many days inventory of LEAF at dealers?

Cars.com reports about 2291, so about 1 months inventory. Seems light. I would think at least 2 months is about right.

 

[smkettner]

That would be selling as fast as Nissan can produce. Still a supply issue it would seem.

 

[evnow]

Statik noted 35 days of sales, IIRC. Low on inventory.

I expect about 3k sales once the inventory settles. 5k or 6k like Dave suggests above, I think, will not come until the Gen 2 and/or with a larger battery option.

 

[Zythryn]

That would be selling as fast as Nissan can produce. Still a supply issue it would seem.

I would suggest it would be selling as fast as Nissan is producing.

 

[smkettner]

Are you implying Nissan is deliberately withholding supply?

 

[Zythryn]

Are you implying Nissan is deliberately withholding supply?

No, not at all.
But certainly Nissan is fully capable of producing more than 2200 or so a month.

What I am suggesting is sales were not adequately planned for and so there is a bit of a lag between the surge of sales and higher production levels. Either that, or Nissan has internal planning that the sales won't continue at this level. However, I think that unlikely as this looks like a very solid increase in the level of demand and the new base model price is being extremely well received.

I would be very surprised if we don't see an increase in production this month to help build up the inventory.

 

[smkettner]

IMO Nissan is producing all they can. Still working to ramp up production either for vehicles or batteries.

 

[evnow]

No, not at all.
But certainly Nissan is fully capable of producing more than 2200 or so a month.

Well, fully capable is a vague word. When last heard, they were still getting batteries from Japan. That might be the limiting factor.

 

[Zythryn]

No, not at all.
But certainly Nissan is fully capable of producing more than 2200 or so a month.

Well, fully capable is a vague word. When last heard, they were still getting batteries from Japan. That might be the limiting factor.

Quite possibly.

However, with the size, production capability, and resources, I suspect Nissan is fully capable of producing many tens of thousands of Leafs if there were the demand for it.
It takes time to switch levels of production. However, they were planning on building many more than they have. This is why I say they have the capability.

And no, they can't simply turn it on or off on a dime, which is why I think we will see an increase in production this month, and therefore an increase in sales.

 

[evnow]

And no, they can't simply turn it on or off on a dime, which is why I think we will see an increase in production this month, and therefore an increase in sales.

Right. I suspect it will take them 3 to 4 months to fully stock the channel.

 

[DaveEV]

Are you implying Nissan is deliberately withholding supply?

Has it been confirmed that the '13 LEAFs are shipping with USA made drivetrain and battery packs yet? We know for sure that the early LEAFs all have very low domestic content values...

 

[RonDawg]

However, with the size, production capability, and resources, I suspect Nissan is fully capable of producing many tens of thousands of Leafs if there were the demand for it.

Considering the quality control issues seen so far with the 2013 models, perhaps they don't want to crank up production until they can get those issues sorted.