First quarter sales of EVs and PHEVs were a mixed bag, and nothing to brag about.
|
US Sales of Electric Vehicles, Including HEVs 2015 |
||||||
|
Month |
Hybrid (HEVs) |
PHEVs |
Battery (BEVs) |
Totals |
PHEV & BEV | |
|
January |
25,312 |
2,113 |
3,977 |
31,402 |
6,090 |
|
|
February |
27,038 |
2,589 |
4,435 |
34,062 |
7,024 |
|
|
March |
33,655 |
3,020 |
5,715 |
42,390 |
8,735 |
|
|
Total 1Q 2015 |
86,005 |
7,722 |
14,127 |
107,854 |
21,849 |
|
|
Total 1Q 2014 |
101,436 |
11,249 |
10,873 |
123,558 |
22,122 |
|
|
% change |
(15.21%) |
(31.35%) |
29.93% |
(12.71%) |
(1.23%) |
|
The only bright spot was the sale of EVs, but they lagged fourth quarter sales of 19,413 EVs by about 27%.
One has to wonder when the sale of EVs and PHEVs will take off.
Total light vehicle sales in the first quarter were 3,726,963.
Total EV and PHEV sales were 0.6%: That’s less than 1% of all vehicle sales during the first quarter of 2015.
When these vehicles were introduced, it was expected that there would be 1,000,000 sold by the end of 2015. This was the forecast made by President Obama.
Total cumulative sales since these vehicles were introduced in 2011 were 307,894.
By this measure, EVs and PHEVs have been a dismal failure, in spite of billions of dollars of taxpayer funded subsidies.
Because of this failure, some commentators attempt to disguise the failure by combining HEVs, EVs and PHEVs when describing electric vehicles. (HEVs are hybrids, similar to the Prius, that can’t use battery power for more than a short distance, and do not recharge their batteries from the grid.)
This distorts the actual market penetration of cars that rely on battery power, either exclusively, such as the Tesla, an EV, or PHEVs for commuting distances, such as the GM Volt.
My earlier article, Is Tesla Gigafactory a Bad Investment? described the current status of battery development and the new solid state battery that’s now in the very early stages of development.
It’s clear, at this point, that EVs are for the rich and famous, and not for ordinary drivers.
It’s still very much a question whether Tesla, or any other manufacturer, can produce a car for under $35,000 that will appeal to the average driver.
How much more taxpayer money will have to be spent on subsidies before EVs and PHEVs achieve any modicum of success?
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