Based on the electric car sales report in the US published by EV Obsession for June 2015, the top three electric vehicles were the 2015 Nissan Leaf, the Tesla Model S, and the 2015 Chevy Volt.
The Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S were in a neck-and-neck battle for the top spot as only 20 units separated them, 2,074 to 2,054. But the third running Chevy Volt is quite distant, with a little over half of the sales of each of the first two, at 1,225.
According to Clean Technica, June 2015 was a poor sales month for electric cars compared to the same month last year when the figures were at quite good.
But it seems that things would turn for the better for electric car sales in the next few months as all the three car manufacturers whose electric cars are leading the sales statistics will actually release new electric car models in the next three to six months.
Nissan will be releasing the 2016 edition of its Leaf early next year; Tesla Motors will be rolling out its Tesla Model X SUV sometime in September this year; and General Motors (GM) will also be unravelling its 2016 Chevy Volt early next year. Those are the three most anticipated electric cars in the US and perhaps in some parts of the world too.
Biggest bet
Most of the American electric car enthusiasts are putting their biggest bet on the upcoming 2016 Chevy Volt. Tesla may have an ace in its sleeve with the Model X, but it is just way too expensive when compared to the 2016 Volt or the 2016 Leaf.
So if Americans would start patronizing American brands, the toss-up will be between the Volt and the Model X as the Leaf is of Japanese origin, despite being manufactured in the US.
The 2016 Chevy Volt has become available for pre-ordering in some locations as well and that is the reason why the sales figures for the 2015 Chevy Volt was in the low figures in June. Car buyers would surely look awkward if they will purchase a brand new 2015 Chevy Volt when they already know that a 2016 Chevy Volt will be arriving a few months down the road.
Likely unveiling
GM is expected to unveil the 2016 Chevy Volt in January next year during the Detroit Auto Show. Accordingly, GM decided to make a massive refresh of the 2016 Volt from the 2015 Volt in order for the company to bring the cost of the electric car way down, notes Green Car Reports.
Former GM CEO Dan Akerson revealed that when they decided to make the cost of the 2016 Volt way down, their idea is to make it affordable by not less than $10,000 vis-à-vis the cost of production.
Akerson said that their company has been losing money just to build the Volt because the production cost is higher than the electric car’s retail price. It is not clear if GM will make money now with the 2016 Chevy Volt. But good business sense dictates that it simply cannot afford losing money on consecutive models as it will certainly hurt the company’s bottom line.
The current price of the 2015 Chevy Volt is about $35,000 and it is likely that the successor model will come out with about the same price or maybe less by a couple of thousands.
The 2016 Chevy Volt is certainly a greener car compared to the current model because it has an even better range of 50 miles on its 18.4 kWh battery compared to the existing edition’s 38 miles which are currently the greatest range for any plug-in hybrid for a 17.1 kWh battery.