EV Sales Surge in California After Chevrolet Bolt Introduction; Hybrids Take a Dive
If the automotive market were a foot, electric vehicles would be the curled-up toe on the outside edge. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, you’re not entirely sure what it’s there for, and some people think it’s weird. Still, it clearly has a purpose to serve and it’s hard to imagine the foot without it. There’s potential in that digit.
Strong Chevrolet Bolt deliveries in California pushed up the state’s EV sales by 91 percent in the first quarter of this year. It may still account for only 2.7 percent of the Golden State’s new vehicles, but it’s still more than many of us expected to see this soon. Sales of the more-affordable, longer-ranged EV seem to suggest the market might begin to gobble up plug-ins as more affordable models with superior range continue to arrive.
“If they can actually deliver, that will be the best opportunity to draw in new buyers.” Kelley Blue Book analyst Rebecca Lindblad told the Los Angeles Times.
General Motors is already cleaning up on the West Coast. Of the 13,804 pure electrics sold in California last quarter, 2,735 were Bolts. However, Chevy is just the tip of the iceberg. Tesla, which currently only sells the pricier Model S and X, is readying its $35,000 Model 3 for end-of-year deliveries while Nissan is prepping the next-generation Leaf (with a competitive 200-mile range) for a fall debut. But things aren’t happening as quickly as California regulators would like.
With 15 percent of all Californian cars sales required to be zero-emission vehicles by 2025, all of the upcoming EVs will need to be hits. “We’re a long way from getting anywhere close,” Lindblad said.
California is also the exception, not the rule, for electric vehicle sales. While EVs are much more popular there than in the other 49 states, it’s still only a sliver of the overall market. Still, the California market reflects a consumer trend seen throughout the United States. Pure EVs are gaining in popularity while hybrids are losing ground. Regular hybrids were down 9.2 percent while plug-in hybrids were up a whopping 54 percent.
Toyota’s Prius is a perfect example. Sales of the Prius have taken a severe beating in 2017, with the plug-in Prime variant the only model to have made any positive headway. Obviously, its updated styling hasn’t helped its appeal, though annual sales have been shrinking by a considerable margin every year since 2014.
Are former hybrid owners migrating to BEVs and PHEVs, or are they making their way back to more efficient traditional powertrains while new customers go for the plug-ins? It’s a question automakers would like to know the answer to. Certainly, Toyota is considering changes to its one-time green leader as the market continues to shift.
[Image: General Motors]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"... Obviously, its updated styling hasn’t helped its appeal ..." You mean making a hideous car even uglier didn't help sales? I'm shocked.
There was a vocal contingent here in the past that suggested Hybrids would be the market winner over BEVs, because they were more practical than a range-anxiety inducing all-electric vehicle. Others, like myself, argues that wasn't likely, because a hybrid was the worst of both worlds - all the complexities of an ICE powertrain AND all the bits of a BEV powertrain in one. It appears the market is agreeing with the latter presumption.