What’s wrong with sales of electric vehicles?
Maybe nothing, considering it’s a relatively new product niche. The technology is new, and customers hear so much about “range anxiety” there’s no doubt it puts off a lot of consumers who could afford one, and who could easily use an electric vehicle for their daily commute.
Nissan announced this month it delivered its 75,000th Nissan Leaf in the United States, to a customer in Portland, Ore. who commutes about 30 miles -- who also just happens to be a senior engineer at
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn set Nissan to the task of making the first mass-market electric vehicle. The Nissan Leaf is in its fifth model year.
Leaf sales in 2014 were up 34 percent to 30,200, according to AutoData Corp. That was an impressive rate of growth considering U.S. car and truck sales were up 6 percent for the whole market, to about 16.5 million, but it’s still a drop in the bucket.
With much tougher Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards looming from the U.S. government, other mass-market brands are lining up to introduce electric vehicles.
Last month,
The Bolt EV is designed to offer a 200-mile range, with a target price around $30,000, GM said.
To be sure, getting electric vehicles from a feel-good novelty to truly affordable mass-market cars is taking a lot pump-priming, training wheels and government support.
Last month, Joerg Sommer, vice president, product marketing and strategy for Volkswagen of America, said Volkswagen’s launch of the zero-tailpipe emissions 2015 e-Golf would include a $10 million commitment to support electric vehicle infrastructure by 2016.
Tax breaks also help, big-time. The starting price of a Nissan Leaf is about $22,000 after the available maximum $7,500 federal tax credit, Nissan said.
Lower gas prices aren’t helping lately. Cheaper gas makes it tougher to make the business case for an electric vehicle.
According to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, the nationwide average per gallon for regular unleaded was $2.42 on March 29, down more than $1 per gallon from $3.54 a year ago.
VW’s Sommer said federal and state governments could do more to help, at the 2015 Electric Drive Congress in Washington.
“In addition to the investment we and other companies and industries are making, we would like to see federal financing support for establishing fast charging networks in urban areas and interstate corridors,” he said. He also called on federal and state governments to help directly, but purchasing more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
Sales of all hybrid cars were 460,167 in 2014, down 9 percent from 508,007 in 2014, AutoData said. For the first two months of 2015, U.S. sales of hybrid cars were down 13 percent to 51,594, AutoData said. Nissan Leaf sales were down 15 percent to 2,268.
“This should be a U.S. Government priority,” Sommer said. “Automakers have effectively delivered electric vehicles that can satisfy the needs of most American drivers.”
