Chevrolet Volt Sales Pass 2K Again In August

After being the first plug-in vehicle to pass the 100,000 sales mark in July for the US, the Chevrolet Volt now finds itself heading into the next 100k with a strong ~5,500 unit lead over its nearest rival, the Nissan LEAF.

The earlier arrival of the 2nd gen Volt (compared to the Nissan LEAF) allowed the extended range GM car to easily hit the 100k mark first

For August 2,081 Volts were sold. A 51% improvement over the 1,380 sold in August of 2015.

Year to date, sales are up 72% (14,295 vs 8,315).

August is the second month in a row over the 2,000 mark (July – 2,406), and the 6th consecutive month north of the 1,800 level.

We should note that these sales improvements are largely due to the fact that new (and much improved) 2nd generation Volt is competing against its former/1st generation self…and that true year-over-year comps on the same model won’t get underway until October (when some 2,035 were sold).

That said, by the time October comes around, we suspect that most focus will be on the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV – which starts production at GM’s Orion, Michigan in that same month, with first deliveries happening by year’s end.

The race to 100k(through July) – now who will take down 200K first?

Other GM plug-in news of interest from August:

Not One Volt Battery Pack Has Ever Been Replaced Due To Battery Degradation. Ever.

*- with new inventory essentially gone, just 6 Cadillac ELRswere sold, we bid you adieu

*- Spark EV sales were down about 10% from last month, at292 units

*- GM reports that of the first 100,000 Volts sold, not one battery was replaced for capacity degradation

*- the Opel Ampera-e (unfortunate name of the Chevy Bolt EV in Europe) will makes it debut in Paris on October the first, and also has its first drag race today (watch/details)

*- Ari Collins Volt is the 2nd to hit 100,000 all-electric miles – of note: over the same time, only 139 miles was driven on gas (details)

*- Chevy Volt owners got the chance to take a ride in the new Bolt EV this month in Michigan (watch)

*- LG started major part production of Bolt EV components this month in South Korea, will shortly begin shipping to US for assembly by GM

Charting The Changes In The US Passenger Car Market

The US passenger car market is hemorrhaging market share, forcing auto makers to rethink their product lineups. Most are scrambling to catch up with customer expectations, which are turning more and more to crossovers and SUVs. “It’s a fundamental shift,” said Jessica Caldwell, director of pricing and industry analysis for Edmunds.com.

In May, total passenger car sales by brand fell 23% for Acura, 12% for BMW, 35% for Buick, 22% for Cadillac, 24% for Chevrolet, 45% for Chrysler, 19% for Dodge, 26% for Ford, 47% for Infiniti, 15.2% for Mercedes-Benz, 15% for Toyota, and 22% for Volkswagen, according to Autodata. So far this year, only 42% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. were passenger cars. that’s down from 50% in 2013.

“I think that we are going to get to a point where the pace of growth in SUVs moderates, but what we are looking at is a world where people prefer a crossover or a utility vehicle,” said Stephanie Brinley, senior automotive analyst for IHS Automotive. Changes in customer preferences have automakers scrambling to adjust their product mix. Some are are cutting back on car production plans or eliminating nameplates entirely.

In January, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said production of the current Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart passenger cars “will run their course.” Since then, sales of the Chrysler 200 have tanked. Workers at the company’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant have been hit with prolonged layoffs. Another 1,300 are scheduled to be laid off in July.

General Motors has eliminated 500 workers at its Orion assembly plant where it makes the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano.  Sales of the Verano are dismal. GM says it will stop selling it altogether in the in North American market this fall. Last year, Toyota announced a $2 billion plan designed to shift production of cars to Mexico and boost production of crossovers and SUVs in the U.S. and Canada.

Automakers that already make crossovers and SUVs are planning to make more of them. Those who don’t are racing to add then to their product mix. This month, GM is introducing the Buick Envision, a new crossover built in and imported from China. It will join the Encore and Enclave in Buick showrooms. Buick said it expects sales of crossovers to grow to 75% of its total sales.

Over the next four years, 73 of the 231 new vehicles that automakers plan to introduce will be crossovers, according to report published in April by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Even brands like Maserati are getting into the SUV game. After years of planning, Maserati will introduce the Levante — a crossover — in the U.S. later this year. “We like to say it is the Maserati of SUVs — 100% Maserati and 100% SUV. The best of both worlds,” Harald Wester, chief technical officer for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said in March.

What factors are driving the renewed interest in crossovers and SUVs? Its not all about low gas prices. Many consumers prefer the higher riding profile and greater interior space they offer compared to conventional sedans. Historically low interest rates are also making it possible for more people to buy more expensive and larger vehicles. The latest models are more fuel efficient than prior generations of SUVs. “For about three years, you were not capable of writing ‘SUV’ without also writing ‘gas guzzler,'” says IHS’ Brinley.

Is Detroit overreacting — again? Once before, the Big Three became enthralled with selling mammoth groundpounders like the Hummer and Ford Excursion. Then sales of those vehicles plummeted as gas prices spiked upward to $4.00 a gallon or more.

“This does open up that risk,” Brinley said. “We are’t looking at a market where sedans completely fall away and nobody buys sedans and you only see utilities.” Still, she argues that automakers are aware of the risks and are unlikely to cut their car lineups back too far. Also, because today’s crossovers are so much more fuel efficient that the SUVs of a decade ago, a spike in gas prices is unlikely to spark a rapid drop in sales the way it did in 2008.

That may be whistling past the graveyard. When and if gas prices rise, consumers may go in an entirely new direction. Who knows. One day they may actually demand crossovers and SUVs powered by electrons rather than molecules.

Source: Detroit Free Press

Toyota Prius Orders Outpace Honda Insight

2010 Toyota Prius




Toyota Motor Corp. expects pre-sale orders for the new Prius hybrid to reach 40,000 units in Japan by the time it goes on sale in mid-May, a newspaper reported today.

Such a pace would easily overtake Honda Motor's rival Insight model.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, sold around 73,100 units of the current Prius in Japan in 2008.

Local newspapers including the Chunichi and Nikkei reported that Toyota dealers in Japan had received orders for more than 20,000 units of the third-generation Prius. Orders are expected to reach 40,000 units ahead of the car's debut, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed Toyota official.

A Toyota spokesman declined to confirm the reports.

Toyota is bracing for a head-on price battle with Honda's new Insight hybrid, which overtook the Prius in domestic sales in February, when it went on sale.

Hybrid car sales are expected to get a big boost from new tax and cash incentives announced by the Japanese government.

The new Prius, which has a 1.8-liter engine, is expected to carry a price tag of around 2.05 million yen ($20,750), cheaper than its predecessor, which starts at 2.33 million yen and is powered by a 1.5-liter engine.

The Insight hybrid, with a 1.3-liter engine, is priced from 1.89 million yen, the first hybrid car to be sold for less than 2 million yen. Toyota is planning to continue selling the existing version of the Prius alongside the fully remodeled version, reportedly for the same price as the Insight.

Toyota has set a global sales target of 400,000 units in 2010 for the new Prius. Honda sold some 18,000 Insights in the car's first month on the market, 3.6 times its monthly sales target of 5,000 for the model.

Source: Automotive News