2014 Used Cadillac ELRs Priced In Mid-20s, Chevy Volts From Half That

It’s an oft-told story of plug-in cars suffering lower than hoped-for resale values, and that’s usually not so good for original buyers, but great for second buyers.

A case in point is General Motors’ 2014 Cadillac ELR that has been spotted as starting in the mid 20s for clean, average-mile examples of a car that just three years prior had come affixed with a sticker price starting in the mid 70s to low 80s.

Another is the car which essentially donated its powertrain to the ELR, the 2014 Chevy Volt, which once stickered in the mid 30s, lower 40s depending on trim, and now is trending at about half the price of the luxurious ELR.

Plug-ins are the nearest thing to an automotive equivalent of consumer electronics in that the earlier models from 2011 on are expected to be superceded by models that will leapfrog with improved features. Details like EV range, cost, and other factors are expected to be much better with succeeding generations than would be expected of improvements for new models of more mature conventional technology cars.

Also true is there is a segment of the population (the majority) which is on the fence about plug-ins for other reasons, including how plug-in vehicles will hold up over a decade compared to a conventional car – one factor that determines resale value.

Source: Bozi Tatarevic@hoonable Twitter page. These are prices from one source. Your ability to find comparable deals in your region may vary.

Much could be said to qualify the present state of affairs, and people may bias the story negatively against GM and plug-in cars, or positively depending on which facts flavor their sensibility and analysis.

Source: Bozi Tatarevic@hoonable Twitter page. These are prices from one source. Your ability to find comparable deals in your region may vary.

On the positive side, the ELR, was nearly a show car based on the Cadillac Converj of 2009, and greenlighted by GM executives to max out upscale design in a compact coupe body with plug-in 1.4-liter hybrid-electric powertrain featuring 37 all-electric EPA-rated miles range.

The Volt has led the way since 2011, and in 2014 guise, it featured 38 miles EV range, being a bit lighter, but otherwise a stellar performer for those wishing to drive all-electric day to day, but with unlimited range from gas fill–ups – as was true also of the ELR.

Both cars offered more EV range than the midsized “blended” plug-in hybrids from Ford, Toyota, and now Hyundai, Kia, and, well, anyone. Only this month is the Honda Clarity PHEV with 47 EV miles clearly ahead of those pioneers and the second-generation 2017 Volt remains the leader with 53 miles.

Not helping either the Volt or ELR was their relatively high starting prices that assured their sales stayed just OK. The Volt actually has the most cumulative sales among plug-ins, more than 120,000 since its inception, but the ELR especially was never perceived as a good value and sold poorly, at times needing heavy dealer discounts to push them out the door.

Next to a Tesla Model S, it started a few thousand more, and readers and reviewers have said some none-too charitable things about that.

Few people have bashed the ELR for its looks however. A stunning car, it’s essentially best as a conveyance for two in the 2+2 tradition.

Both cars also have a relative decent track record for reliability, and GM has treated these as halo cars – expression of the global multinational corporation’s efforts to make its mark on the pending plug-in era now heating up with much thanks to its early efforts. That should mean GMtook extra care in their build quality and engineering, and so far this story line appears to be holding up.

Of the two, the “extended range electric” Volt has led GM’s plug-in hybrid efforts, but the ELR came and went. Its modest acceleration performance was perceived too low for what it cost, and the sporty luxury image it conveyed. The year 2014 was its first, it skipped the 2015 model year and was updated with improved performance in 2016, then canceled in 2016.

If one were cynical, the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” could come to mind. GM also is in line to be one of the first, or the first plug-in maker to see its allotment of federal plug-in tax credits reach their 200,000 cap.

Of late, lawmakers have been drawing a bead on dismantling the tax credit early, this week it was reported it is still intact, but it remains to be seen whether an extension is granted to the likes of GM, Tesla, and Nissan, which are in line to reach 200,000 first.

Assuming the tax credit is not extended, it’s been widely observed a de facto penalty on first movers like Tesla, Nissan, and GM would be imposed because they plowed a field for other automakers who held back to ride in and profit from.

As is true of these companies and others who got their feet wet early this decade with plug-ins, GM has been reported as selling its early tech at a loss. This is not verified, a closely guarded secret GM is not divulging, and others have speculated it was at least not as profitable to sell the ELR and Volt – or they also stood to shake up GM’s bread-and-butter vehicles that sell in multiples of their monthly volume.

Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Jun: Leaf, Volt Wane After May Surge

2015 Nissan Leaf

New cars and trucks are selling at a blistering pace in the U.S. right now, adding to a seventh consecutive year of volume growth for the industry.

But with half the year gone, sales of plug-in electric cars are in something of a holding pattern despite a surge last month, pending the launch of two key products.

Those are the 2016 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, with its 50-mile electric range and gasoline engine, and an updated 2016 Nissan Leaf thought to have a range of 100-plus miles.

Until those cars arrive in volume on dealer lots, plug-in sales are growing--but not as much as they have in recent years.

For June, 2,074 Nissan Leafs were delivered to buyers--bringing the half-year total to 9,816 , compared to 12,736 during the same period in 2014.

Total U.S. Leaf sales are now 82,138, increasing its lead over the outgoing Chevy Volt--and adding to its position as the best-selling electric car in history.

Last week, in fact, Nissan and its partner Renault delivered their quarter-millionth electric car. More than 180,000 of that total were Nissan Leafs.

2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid - details of Voltec drivetrain from SAE presentations, Feb 2015

The Chevrolet Volt, meanwhile, saw 1,225 sales in June--its second-highest month this year--for a six-month total of 5,662. Total U.S. Volt deliveries are now 78,979.

The 2016 Volt is now in pre-production at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, and we expect it will start showing up at dealers in California sometime during September.

Supplies for the rest of the country will follow during the rest of the autumn.

ALSO SEE: Will 2015 Plug-In Electric Car Sales Exceed Last Year's Total?

As always, Tesla Motors refuses to release monthly sales figures--or indeed sales by country--for its Model S luxury electric car.

The company did promise last quarter to release total global sales for the quarter within a few days after the quarter closes, so we look forward to that piece of data in the next few days.

The remaining high-volume plug-in vehicle is the BMW i3, which in battery-electric and range-extended versions combined has exceeded 1,000 units a month several times over the last year.

In June, however, just 551 units were delivered, possibly due to rumored supply shortages owing to demand in other global markets.

For the first six months of 2015, a total of 4,456 i3s have found buyers in the U.S. market--making the little carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic electric minicar either the third- or fourth-best-selling plug-in car in the country just 14 months after it launched.

Plug-in hybrids

As for the higher-volume plug-in hybrid models, the plug-in Toyota Prius racked up 464 sales, about average for the six-month period that saw a total of 2,890 delivered.

That compares to 9,300 during the same first half last year, and reflects both the waning of the model and an end to the supply of green stickers for single-occupant carpool-lane access in its stronghold California market.

The Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid ended production last month; a new model will lag this autumn's launch of the all-new 2016 Prius hybrid model by at least several months.

Sales of the pair of plug-in hybrid models from Ford will be reported tomorrow.

The Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid, always a limited and low-volume contender, sold four units in June, for a six-month total of only 59. It will be withdrawn from the market after this year.

Low-volume and compliance cars

Finally, as always, we're aggregating data for the many lower-volume vehicles--with sales of, say, 300 or less a month--that make up the majority of the two dozen plug-in electric vehicles offered for sale in (parts of) the U.S.

Just 62 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric sport coupes were delivered in June, its lowest monthly total since May 2014. The ELR's half-year total is 593 sold to date.

In that same price range, Porsche's pair of plug-in hybrid luxury sports models saw sales of 88 for the Cayenne SUV and 34 for the Panamera large sedan. The first-half totals for the two cars were 486 and 230, respectively.

At a higher price than any of the above (base price: $135,000) were the 137 gull-winged BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupes, for a six-month total of 733 (and total deliveries since going on sale last August of 1,288.

At more achievable prices, 293 Volkswagen e-Golfs were sold in June, bringing the half-year total to 1,518. An additional 357 were sold in November and December last year.)

The other German compact five-door hatchback, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, saw sales of 242 for a six-month total of 1,172.

No Honda Fit EVs or Toyota RAV4 EVs were delivered in June, and both models have now been discontinued after meeting their compliance goals under California's zero-emission vehicle rules.

Fiat refuses to break out sales of its 500e battery-electric minicar; Kia does the same for its Soul EV electric tall wagon.

This article will be updated multiple times during the day as data is released. Figures for Ford's vehicles will arrive tomorrow.

Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid Coming To Shanghai

Last week GM revealed its new flagship luxury car, the Cadillac CT6, which debuts a new naming nomenclature and chassis structure for the brand. While the Cadillac CT6 debuted with a 400 horsepower twin-turbo V6 engine, CEO Johan de Nysschen told The Detroit Bureau that a plug-in hybrid version with similar performance would debut at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month.

The timing couldn’t be better, as de Nysschen was just quoted as saying that Cadillac’s only plug-in car, the Volt-based ELR, would not continue after its product cycle ends. With an average of less than 100 sales a month (due mostly to its Tesla-rivaling MSRP of $76,000), the ELR may be popular with its owners, but woefully outdated once the CT6 plug-in hybrid debuts. Out with the old, in with the new, as it were.

Cadillac is keeping details of the CT6 plug-in hybrid close to the chest for now, though Cadillac officials did hint that a lithium-ferrous-oxide battery larger than the lithium-ion battery found in the Chevy Volt will be part of the equation. This may imply that the Cadillac CT6 has a different plug-in drivetrain from the Volt or the just-revealed Chevy Malibu Hybrid, though officials have suggested similar fuel economy in the neighborhood of 45 MPG, with an electric driving range of more than 30 miles per charge.

So why a Shanghai debut? Simply put, because Cadillac needs more plug-ins to compete in the Chinese market as the local government seeks to further incentivize green car sales. The CT6 will go on sale in China at first, but will definitely come to the American market if for no other reason than to improve the economies of sale and profit margins.

More importantly, de Nysschen says that battery-powered drivetrains will play an increasingly important role within the Cadillac lineup. Despite an almost entirely-new lineup, Cadillac sales have been falling, buffered only by the hot-selling Escalade SUV. Are the lack of plug-in vehicles to blame? Considering competitors like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW pledging to sell more and more models that plug-in more than they fill-up, I think there’s something to the notion that Cadillac is just a few steps behind its biggest competitors.

Here’s hoping the new Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid can close the mineshaft….err electrification gap.

BMW i5/i7 Plug-In Hybrid Coming In 2018

There must be a lot of interesting conversations happening in BMW’s Munich, Germany headquarters these days. First there’s the technology alliance with Toyota, which could give birth to a hydrogen-powered Bimmer as well as a hybrid sports car, and there’s been at least some kind of informal discussions with Tesla’s Elon Musk. And of course, there’s BMW’s own successful plug-in cars, the i3 and i8.

According to the UK’s Car Magazine, the rumored BMW i5/i7 will continue in the tradition of the i3 and i8, but boasting two electric motors and a zero-emissions range of up to 80 miles per charge. The setup will be similar to the drivetrain of the i8, with no mechanical connection between the front and rear wheels, though in this case with an electric motor situated on each axle.

The front motor will be good for about 245 horsepower, and the rear motor about 95 ponies, with a 245 horsepower four-cylinder range extender bringing total output to about 545 horsepower. The gas engine will assist at speeds above 40 MPH, though the i5/i7 is being designed to operate primarily on battery power. The plug-in hybrid can operate using either the front or rear electric motors alone, together, or in conjunction with the range extender, which from the sounds of it will also help in the motivation.

While Car Magazine calls this a Tesla competitor, I have to disagree; this is a fancier version of the Chevy Volt, a four-door Cadillac ELR done right if you will. The 80 miles of electric range is as much as the BMW i3 offers, and about four times as far as the i8 can go on electrons, but it’s just 30 miles more range than the Volt, for somewhere between $60,000 and $125,000. In terms of price, the BMW may be compared to the Tesla, but if it has a combustion engine, it’s still in a totally different class if you ask me.

Porsche, meanwhile, is ditching combustion engines entirely for its upcoming Pajun electric sedan, and Mercedes is reportedly working on an electric car to compete with the Model S. BMW is reportedly planning to remake the 3-series sedan as plug-in hybrids only, so the i5/7 could be serving as a stepping stone to the eventual electrification of BMW’s best-selling vehicle (by far). But an all-electric BMW, besides the i3, seems to be out of the question for the moment.

But if this report is true, than the i5/i7 is no Tesla competitor, but it’s also not something to be dismissed.

Chevy Bolt Could Beat The Tesla Model III To Production

The Chevy Bolt was a great surprise from GM at the Detroit Auto Show, pledging a 200-mile range and a $30,000 price tag…after tax credits, that is. According to Reuters, the Bolt is much more than just a concept though, and production could begin as soon as the second half of 2016, putting it on dealership lots ahead of its main rival, the Tesla Model III.

While GM has been quick to squash these rumors, I was standing right next to a high-level GM executive at the Detroit Auto Show when he told a well-known EV advocate that the automaker “has a habit of bringing concepts to production.” Reuters reports that the Chevy Bolt will be built at an underused small-car factory somewhere north of Detroit, most likely the Orion Assembly plant, which produces the Chevy Sonic and Buick Verano and is producing well below capacity.

However, it could also be built at the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, where the Chevy Volt and Cadillac ELR are built alongside the Chevy Impala and Malibu. The Opel Ampera was also built here, and it’s located close to the LG Chem plant where the Bolt’s batteries will probably be produced, though the Bolt is reportedly sharing the same Gamma platform as the next-gen Sonic (a car I love more with each passing day). An Opel version of the Bolt will reportedly replace the Ampera to give GM a plug-in offering in Europe, where EV sales have nearly doubled.

GM would be foolish not to build the Bolt, and despite their protestations, it looks like we might get the affordable EV that Elon Musk promised even sooner than we hoped. The question then becomes, will people still wait for the Tesla Model III? Or will they jump ship to the better-known and more-affordable offering from GM?

Plug-In Car Sales Top 100,000 For 2014

With November’s sales figures still being tabulated, Inside EVs reports that 2014 sales of plug-in hybrids and electric cars in the US have already topped 105,000 units through the end of November with another month of sales still to come.

That’s a substantial increase over 2013, when a total of 97,507 cars were sold in the entire year. If the current pace continues through December, the total for calendar year 2014 should exceed 114,000 vehicles. Avid followers of plug-in and EV sales can follow Inside EV’s monthly sales tracker for up to the minute reports.

Of course, some will say that the total number of plug in and EV cars sold is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the number of conventional cars being purchased. Industry analysts expect total vehicle sales in the US market to top 17 million in 2014. But the trend toward EVs and plug-ins is growing. Navigant Research predicts they will account for about 2.5% of all sales worldwide by 2023.

Nissan’s LEAF all electric vehicle is the overall sales leader in the US with monthly sales averaging around 2500 cars. The Chevy Volt is next with about 1700 sales per month and the Tesla Model S is in third place, delivering about 1400 cars every month. The chart includes several models that have just become available, such as the Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen e-Golf and Porsche Cayenne S-E.

Cadillac Electric Car In The Works

GM’s luxury division Cadillac has a new boss, a new headquarters, and a new plug-in hybrid sedan in the works. According to a report from Reuters, the brand that once claimed to be “The Standard of the World” is also planning a pure electric car to compete toe-to-toe with the Tesla Model S.

Cadillac’s new boss Johan de Nysschen wants to double the brand’s lineup from five to 10 models in the new few years, with a full-size plug-in hybrid sedan called the CT6. Also on deck is a successor to the floundering Cadillac ELR and an even-bigger luxury sedan called either the CT8 or CT9 meant to take on stretched versions of the Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 series.

But the biggest news is that a pure-electric car is coming to the Cadillac lineup. A 200-mile, $30,000 electric car reportedly based on the Chevy Sonic is supposedly in the works and due out in 2017, the same time the $35,000 Tesla Model III should debut. Will this lower-priced Chevy-based EV make its way over to Cadillac the same way the Chevy Volt was tarted up as the Cadillac ELR? Could be, though given all the flack GM took over the $76,000 price of the ELR they might not want to take that chance again.

Then again, this is GM we’re talking about, managed to be both the world’s largest automaker and completely bankrupt at the same time. Cadillac sales have yet to recover to their pre-recession highs in the U.S., and globally the brand has failed to make much of an impact despite executive claims that annual sales of 300,000 units are around the corner.

Can a Tesla competitor and plug-in hybrids help rejuvenate interest and sales in the old luxury marque? That’s the bet GM seems to be making, and despite all its shortcomings, one should never count the General out.

Source: Gas 2.