- The Nissan Leaf continues to outpace the Chevrolet Volt in the monthly sales race, but General Motors says "that'll soon change."
- General Motors sold 302 Chevrolet Volts in August, while Nissan sold 1,362 Leafs.
- General Motors told Inside Line on Thursday that Volt sales should pick up now that a factory shutdown to prepare for the launch of the 2012 Volt has ended.
DETROIT — The Nissan Leaf continues to outpace the Chevrolet Volt in the monthly sales race, but General Motors says "that'll soon change." General Motors sold 302 Chevrolet Volts in August while Nissan sold 1,362 Leafs.
GM has sold 3,172 Volts year-to-date, according to sales figures released on Thursday. Nissan reported that it has sold 6,187 Leafs since the electric car went on sale last December.
The Leaf vs. Volt results are among the most closely watched box scores released every month by the two automakers.
When asked by Inside Line on Thursday how GM would explain the wide gulf between the Leaf and Volt, a GM spokesman said the summer shutdown of the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Volt is built accounted for some of the slow sales.
"It's tough to sell what's not on dealer lots, but that'll soon change now that DHam (is) up and running after the planned plant shutdown and vehicles are again in the pipeline," wrote Rob Peterson, a GM spokesman in response to an e-mailed query. "The fact that more than one-third of Volt sales this month happened this last week and most 2012s are on dealer lots for less than three days is an indication that product is beginning to arrive and demand remains strong.
"Keep in mind that more than one-third of our production is normally in transit to launch markets, which are primarily on the coasts — except for Michigan and Texas."
The Leaf extended its lead over the Volt in July, with the Japanese EV outselling its plug-in hybrid rival 931 units to 125.
GM recently cut the Volt's base sticker to $39,995, including an $850 shipping charge. Nissan raised the price of the Leaf to $36,050, including an $850 shipping charge.
Inside Line says: The September Leaf versus Volt stats may really tell the tale, now that the Volt plant is full speed ahead.
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fattmerris says:
01:46 PM, 09/07/2011
fordman38 says: "I think people who want a true EV are short sighted (or live in dense urban areas and want something a little better than a golf cart to run errands). True EV's have limitations in range, top speed and 'refueling' time. "
fordman38 is very uninformed. I own a Nissan LEAF and I don't live in a dense urban area (Texas could hardly be considered dense urban). Roughly 1/2 acre plots throughout my neighborhood. I drive 28 miles round trip to work everyday and then another 15 or so running errands and kids to sports etc. I live in Texas where temps have been 100 degrees plus the entire time I've owned this car. My range with AC cranked is about 92 miles which is more than enough to go 2 days between charging. Charging time has never been the slightest consideration. I plug in the car when I pull into the garage. It takes about 3.5 hours to charge on my 220V home charger which it does on a timer at about 3am every night while I sleep.
As far as speed, with 100% instant torque, I can beat most anyone off the line. Like most drivers however, I didn't buy my car for drag racing. The car is speed limited to 93mph. How often do you drive that fast? Even on the open highways of Texas, I don't drive that fast. Range will never be an issue for me because I would never take the smaller car on a road trip (in a 2 car family, who does?).
I challange anyone to actually look at their driving habits and determine if an EV would work for you. Map out how far you drive everyday. How often do you ever drive more than 100 miles? Are you a single car owner? Do you regularly transport more than 5 people? For me the LEAF works great and has become my family's primary mode of transportation (my wife and I fight over who gets to drive it).
fattmerris says:
01:45 PM, 09/07/2011
fordman38 says: "I think people who want a true EV are short sighted (or live in dense urban areas and want something a little better than a golf cart to run errands). True EV's have limitations in range, top speed and 'refueling' time. "
fordman38 is very uninformed. I own a Nissan LEAF and I don't live in a dense urban area (Texas could hardly be considered dense urban). Roughly 1/2 acre plots throughout my neighborhood. I drive 28 miles round trip to work everyday and then another 15 or so running errands and kids to sports etc. I live in Texas where temps have been 100 degrees plus the entire time I've owned this car. My range with AC cranked is about 92 miles which is more than enough to go 2 days between charging. Charging time has never been the slightest consideration. I plug in the car when I pull into the garage. It takes about 3.5 hours to charge on my 220V home charger which it does on a timer at about 3am every night while I sleep.
As far as speed, with 100% instant torque, I can beat most anyone off the line. Like most drivers however, I didn't buy my car for drag racing. The car is speed limited to 93mph. How often do you drive that fast? Even on the open highways of Texas, I don't drive that fast. Range will never be an issue for me because I would never take the smaller car on a road trip (in a 2 car family, who does?).
I challange anyone to actually look at their driving habits and determine if an EV would work for you. Map out how far you drive everyday. How often do you ever drive more than 100 miles? Are you a single car owner? Do you regularly transport more than 5 people? For me the LEAF works great and has become my family's primary mode of transportation (my wife and I fight over who gets to drive it).
blach says:
11:05 AM, 09/06/2011
It is getting funny to listen to most of these comments going back and forth. Cut to the chase. The car is too small, to expensive and in documented actual use only goes about 25 miles on a charge. If you travel more than 25 miles round trip each time you use it then it is a waste of money. Without the government, meaning you and me, paying $7,500.00 per vehicle the sales would be much lower than they are. The design and marketing people who worked on this project should have read up on the Edsel before they started. To top this off, if mileage is your objective, there are several other cars on the market that get better mileage without the hassle of a plug and cost less than half the price! Let's get on with life and put this behind us.
kevm14 says:
03:56 AM, 09/06/2011
The only reason this continues to be an argument is because of the suspected logic at work here. The goal with the "it's just a hybrid" argument, is to then say:
"Now that we've established it's just a hybrid, it is more expensive than a Prius, and gets worse mileage, which is why it is a dumb idea."
Isn't that your end game here? Nevermind, I know it is, because you've been repeating the same thing on and off in any given Volt thread.
There are a lot of nuances that really make that argument not work, but, for some people (mostly people who were never in the target demographic), it is accurate enough.
It's no coincidence that people who don't like the Volt are more willing to dismiss it as "just another hybrid - which, by the way, is over priced and gets poor MPG." With that much battery capacity, the efficiency on electricity is actually worth talking about. I also wonder if you've driven one, to see how masterfully well integrated the car is. A spec sheet won't tell you that. And there is value (to some - see the ES350 buyer) in refined, sophisticated, seamless integration.
kevm14 says:
03:49 AM, 09/06/2011
Sure, eventually. That "eventually" is everything. If not, than I may as well argue with a Corolla owner why they should have bought a Lexus ES350. "Both get me to work! The ES350 is more expensive AND less efficient! What kind of stupid idiot would buy that over a Corolla?"
firstwagon says:
07:39 PM, 09/05/2011
"The only time the Volt acts anything like a normal hybrid is after you use 10-ish kWH of energy from the Li-Ion pack."
But it still does it which makes it a normal hybrid.
kevm14 says:
07:36 PM, 09/05/2011
"Hate to break it to you but he's more right then you are and it's you that needs to educate yourself."
Nope. He said "If you gun the gas, the IC engine will engage the wheels." Which is what a Prius will do. He didn't preface it with "if the battery is run down." Everybody who knows a few things about hybrids know that's what all hybrids do when you floor the gas. Then, by extension, they figure the Volt must behave the same way. That is wrong. The only time the Volt acts anything like a normal hybrid is after you use 10-ish kWH of energy from the Li-Ion pack.
firstwagon says:
05:14 PM, 09/04/2011
kevm14
Hate to break it to you but he's more right then you are and it's you that needs to educate yourself.
Once the battery is depleted the gas motor will engage the wheels and drive the car (sometimes).
Here's a good explanation if it helps you...
http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/1010_unbolting_the_chevy_volt_to_see_how_it_ticks/
The long and short of it is the Volt is a hybrid. It can just run on electricity a lot more then other hybrids.
Which will sell more? Too soon to say as you can't sell what you don't have. I'm still betting on the Leaf though. Driving an electric cars with a gas engine running is complelety missing the point and anyone who can afford either of these cars is smart enough to work out the range issue. It's not rocket science to know how far your car will go.
... and the vast majority of families have more then one car anyhow which covers the trip problem ( as does rental car companies).
kevm14 says:
07:46 AM, 09/03/2011
"Volt is not an EV. If you gun the gas, the IC engine will engage the wheels"
Wrong. Please educate yourself and try again. You just described the Prius (and every other hybrid), NOT the Volt.
pei_asdf says:
07:32 AM, 09/03/2011
Volt is not an EV. If you gun the gas, the IC engine will engage the wheels. As for range issue, you'll be surprised how easy/often people in New York City rent a car for the weekend long trip. Leaf for the daily commute, VW something for the trip to Cape Cod.