Well, both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt have been on the market for a while. Both were introduced in slow rollouts late last year. So enough time has passed to determine how they are selling. Edmunds.com, a major auto site, reported that between January 1, 2011 and April 1, 2011, 1,536 Chevrolet Volts were sold while, during the same period, only 471 Leafs were sold. In March, Chevrolet announced that sales of the Volt would increase in May and that they expected 10,000 Volts to be delivered by the end of the year.
The latest reports on Leaf sales have not been encouraging. But Nissan-Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn doesn’t seem too concerned. He was brave enough to announce in May 2010 that the Leaf is “out of stock”. That announcement came more than six months before the car’s actual launch. So how could he make such a claim? He based his numbers back then on the number of orders Nissan received for the car. And in May 2010, Nissan reported receiving 13,000 orders. People who thought they would want to get the car when it was released could go to a Nissan website and place their order and pay a $99 deposit. Well, the initial and actual sales figures don’t seem to match the first orders. So the obvious question is, are these people waiting for some reason to pick up their Leaf or have they decided to forfeit their deposit?
The point is that many people who are not in the auto industry really hope that the electric car will be nothing more than a niche product, at least until the infrastructure is set up well enough to serve them. By now, everyone knows that electric car owners need to plug their car into a power outlet so that the car’s battery can be charged and the car runs. Companies like General Electric and others now offer special charging stations that can be installed in a home that will charge vehicles faster than the common home electrical system. But these stations were launched on the market recently. Also, major cities are putting up charging stations in parking lots and parking structures, in shopping malls and other places where people frequent, but as of now, there aren’t enough of them. And finally, the power grid needs to be upgraded so it can support the thousands or even millions of electric cars some people hope will one day be on the road. Could this be slowing sales?
Then there’s a little problem known as “range anxiety.” Since the true 100 percent electric car relies on a fully charged battery to travel, there are potential buyers of the car who are holding back because they fear the battery will die before they reach their destination. Range Anxiety is a legitimate concern with the Leaf, but the Volt also has a gasoline engine that kicks in when the battery runs low. The engine runs a generator so the car can continue its journey. All other cars classified as electric cars are more like the Leaf than the Volt. There is no gasoline engine to bail you out.
Price could also be a consideration. The Volt, for example, has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of around $40,000. That’s not cheap for the typical new car buyer. Still, the federal government offers a tax credit of about $7,000 for people who buy an electric car. Therefore, the impact of the original label may be somewhat lessened.
The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf aren’t the only electric cars available or soon to be. In fact, the list of companies that offer or will offer an electric car is long.
Many have been impressed with an electric car Tesla is launching soon called the Model S. First, it’s expensive. However, if you have the money, you’ll get a car that eliminates “range anxiety” because it will be offered with a variety of mile range packages including 160, 230, and 300. The car can also accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds and will have a top speed of 120 mph. In addition, it is said to have a fast charging function that allows the car to be charged in 45 minutes. The company also intends to launch an electric sports roadster.
Another company that has been gaining interest is Fisker, which offers the Karma. This pure electric car has two driving modes: Stealth and Sport. It has a top speed of 95 mph in stealth mode and accelerates from 0 to 60 in 7.9 seconds. Sport mode has a top speed of 125 mph and goes from 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds. It can also make 403 horsepower. And by the way, it comes with a hefty $80,000 price tag.
There are a number of pure electric cars that are available now or will be available soon. Some may be a little less expensive.
The electric Ford Focus is scheduled for launch later this year. It has a range of 100 miles. and an MSRP has not yet been announced.
The Coda electric sedan is actually made in China. It has a range of 120 miles, an MSRP of $4,800, and will be available only in California in late 2012.
The Mitsubishi i, also known as the MiEV i, is a third the size of the Leaf, can make 63 horsepower, and has a top speed of around 80 mph. The range is approximately 75-85 miles. It will hit the market later this year in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, followed by a launch in the northeastern part of the US. It should be available nationwide in late 2012.
The Smart ED (Electric Drive) has a range of approximately 74 to 80 miles and a recharge time of three and a half hours. It will only be available on lease at $599 per month.
Pininfarina Blue, an Italian sports car with four seats, five doors and solar panels on the roof, has a range of 150 miles. A smartphone app will be available to monitor battery charge status and allow the owner to turn on the air conditioner and heater remotely.
So the electric car has only really been a part of the market for about six months. Of course, there are many more to come, including many cheaper three-wheelers. However, can it be said that the electric car will be our savior? Well, in January 2011, Ford Motors CEO Bill Ford Jr. claims that the electric car will propel Detroit into a new era of progress. We think the jury is still out on that.