US electric car sales rose slightly (2.1%) in June 2016 compared to June 2015, but were up 8.5% for the year through June. That said, fully electric cars were down 35% in June, and 11% for the year through June (while plug-in hybrids were up 68% and 45.7%, respectively).
There are a variety of factors that may be the cause of the dip in fully electric car sales, including potential errors with simple estimates regarding Tesla sales (which account for a significant portion of US electric car sales). Market factors that could have influenced sales in a negative manner include:
- people awaiting the Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3, a longer-range Nissan LEAF and BMW i3, and other long-range electric cars;
- expiration of California’s $2,500 ZEV rebate (and expectation that it will be revived before too long);
- delayed deliveries of Teslas — Model S and Model X (though, given that Tesla sales were higher in June 2016 vs June 2015, I don’t think we can count this as contributing to a negative sales trend for the overall EV market, even though it did depress sales compared to what they could have been);
- month-to-month noise.
As a portion of overall US car sales, electric cars were at 0.7% in June.
In terms of how the cars ranked, you can see that well enough via the chart at the top, but the general highlights from the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015 are that:
- the Nissan LEAF fell from #2 in 2015 to #4 in 2016
- the Chevy Volt rose from #3 in 2015 to #2 in 2016
- the Ford Fusion Energi rose from #5 in 2015 to #3 in 2016
- the BMW i3 fell from #4 in 2015 to #7 in 2016
- the Tesla Model S was #1 both years
- the Tesla Model X has already climbed to #5 in 2015
I also think it’s interesting that just 5 cars accounted for ⅔ of the US electric car market in June, and for the year through June.
Any other thoughts on the numbers?
why so much difference between your count and this one:
http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
and for you sales in june down 1 % and for the other one biggest month in history…
Tesla numbers estimates are the principal reason for the difference. From the total q2 deliveries announced by Tesla, and joining numbers from TMC about European registration numbers and from EV Sales blog, I think the number for Tesla S was more than 3000 in US, maybe not the 3700 figure, surely more than 3000, and surely the Insideev figure for Tesla X is very near the real one, counting on total deliveries of 4625 for this quarter and EV Sales figures for Tesla X in US for April and May that were very close to the Inside ev figures.
I know the reason: all EVs other than Tesla are shit.
Owning an S, X and LEAF, the LEAF is a better metro car and Tesla are better road trip cars, and much more expensive. Getting in and out of tight places with the leaf’s 360 degree cameras is a snap, and a tighter turning radius.
The BMW i8 begs to differ.
It’s not an EV. It’s a hybrid.
It can operate in full EV mode. Presumably, that’s why it’s on this list.
1. Mainstream market still wants and sees longer range fully electric vehicles incoming than what exists on the market today.
2. Early adopter market has been the driving force for sales in the past and is probably still happy with their prior purchase within the last five years. So sales show signs of slowing.
3. PHEV provides longer range, however it can be priced up to $13,000 (like a Sonata PHEV) over the ICEV model. Incentives can help, but it still winds up being ~$10K (up to 50% more expensive up front) over the ICEV model.
4. Mainstream priced (~$25,000, in accordance with ICEV best-selling lists) full sized fully electric/PHEV sedans, trucks are still non-existent.
5. Mainstream ICEV’s (like a Sonata) can have up to 25% better mileage than they did 7 years ago.