Electric Renovo Coupe Is An EV Performance Revolution

Built in secret for the past four years, the Renovo Coupe has put a revolutionary electric drivetrain in a classic Shelby Daytona Coupe body. It’s the perfect blend of old-meets-new, taking a timeless classic car and installing a cutting-edge electric drivetrain that focuses on spirited performance driving.

The two men behind this electric supercar are Renovo CEO Christopher Heiser and CTO Jason Stinson, and what they’ve done is focus in developing an electric drivetrain that can handle the rigors of performance racing. And that’s what they built, taking an $89,000 Shelby Daytona CSX9000 chassis, and fitting it with a 30 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that is both lightweight, and tolerant to the high temperatures that limit the performance of cars like the Tesla Model S on the race track. Renovo has also fitted its electric coupe with on-the-fly regenerative feedback adjustment, depending on what the situation calls for.

The Renovo Coupe is fitted with a pair of twin sequential electric motors spinning out a combined 500 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. At a claimed curb weight of just 3,250 pounds, that’s a whole lotta oomph in a lightweight package, allowing the Renovo to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in about 3.4 seconds. 14-inch cross-drilled front rotors are matched with six piston calipers, while at the rear are 13.4 inch rotors and four-piston calipers.

The limiting factor here though is range, rated at just 100 miles per charge. That was done intentionally though, as Renovo is emphasizing its enterprising EV as a lightweight track car with a focus on fast-charging. More range would have meant a heftier car, hurting performance more than it helped, so instead the Renovo team focused on fast charging. A standard Level 2 charger will top off the battery pack in about 5 hours, but the Renovo Coupe can also hook up to Level 3 chargers that will fill it up in just 30 minutes, without harming battery life or performance.

Along with patent-pending high heat tolerance, the ability to recharge and discharge rapidly is key to Renovo’s marketing strategy. Limited sales begin in California early next year, and pricing is set at $529,000. With a $90,000 Shelby Daytona Coupe body as the starting point, and custom everything-else throughout, including a modified interior with all new gauges, it certainly isn’t for the average Starbucks-drinking environmentalist. No, this is an electric supercar for the Kopi Luwak crowd.

This could be the battery revolution EVs have been waiting for, and reshape what the industry thinks electric cars are capable of. Or maybe its just another boutique, flash-in-the-pan EV. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Gas 2.

New Electric Car Battery Cuts Weight by 40%

Electric cars are quickly overcoming the hurdles of cost and range anxiety, but one area that still needs improvement is the added weight of big battery packs. UK-based Cenex has just completed a two-year project to reduce both the weight and cost of EV batteries, succeeding by shaving 99 pounds, or about 41% of the weight off a standard EV battery, reports Green Car Congress.

Cenex also achieved a 63% reduction in the cost of non-cell battery components, and ultimately the company hopes to enable mass production of lower weight and cost battery packs. Cenex made these weight and cost savings by eliminating the need for wires and screws in the power pack, massively reducing the number of battery components; in two similarly-sized 4 kWh modules, the EV-Lite battery project used just 196 separate components, compared to over 800 in a conventional battery pack.

Cenex also developed an innovative safety feature which isolates individual cells in case of a fire, and the team derived five different patents for their efforts. Considering that the average EV battery is complicated, costly, and in the case of the Tesla Model S, can weigh upwards of 1,300 pounds. Reduce that by 40%, and you just shaved over 500 pounds from the curb weight of the Model S, which would mean more range and better driving characteristics.

Lighter batteries have a lot of benefits, and once automakers overcome the bugaboo of weight, we should start seeing some really long range EVs.

Source:  Cleantechnica

New Tesla Roadster Coming in 2017 … Maybe

Tesla launched its brand with a simply styled, brutally fast convertible called the Tesla Roadster. It was based heavily on the featherweight Lotus Elise roadster, which may or may not become the car you see, above: the on-again, off-again 2015 Lotus Elise concept.

Now, rumors are starting to circulate about an all-new Tesla Roadster coming in 2017. All of which begs the question, “Will Tesla’s next Roadster, then, be based on Lotus’ next Elise?”

Probably not.

All the same, an updated Tesla Roadster is expected to be one of four – four! – all-new Tesla models that (the usually reliable) Autobild magazine claims will be released by 2017, just in time to carry a “2018″ model year designation. We already know about the hot-selling Model X SUV/crossover and Model 3 “mainstream” sedan made to take on the Chevy Volt PHEV and Nissan Leaf, but Autobild is claiming that, along with the new Tesla Roadster, a new compact city car – similar in size and concept to the BMW i3 – will be joining the lineup, as well.

With a compact, a pair of sedans, an SUV, and – now – an updated sports car, Tesla could become the first full-line, all-electric carmaker in … maybe 100 years? Something like that.

Let us know what you think of Tesla’s big plans, and whether or not you think they’d be better off with a Lotus-tuned chassis (my take: they would be) in the comments, below.

Source: Autobild, via World Car Fans.

California Could Limit EV Incentives Based On Income

The Golden State is the golden child of the electric car movement, serving as the home base of Tesla Motors and the fast-selling Model S. California also offers EV buyers a $2,500 rebate, which in addition to the $7,500 Federal tax credit, takes up to $10,000 off the price of an electric car.

But one state lawmaker wants to stop giving away state money to EV buyers who are overwhelmingly wealthy. A new plan would limit the size of the state incentive based on income, and offer additional perks to lower income individuals who want to buy an electric car, reports the LA Times.

The bill was introduced by Democrat Kevin de Leon, who says that well-off EV buyers shouldn’t get free money to buy a car they’d probably buy anyways. He may have a point; 50% of Tesla Model S buyers make over $300,000 a year, and while in California that merely makes one “upper middle class”, it’s worth asking whether these wealthy buyers really need any sort of financial incentive to buy an electric car.

de Leon instead proposes a progressive incentive program, which would offer lower income EV buyers an additional $1,500 for trading in a “high pollution vehicle” in addition to the $2,500 rebate. Poorer families could also get an additional $3,000 for the purchase of a clean air car, which if you’re keeping track, would add up to a total of $7,000 in incentives. Apply the $7,500 Federal tax rebate, and that’s $14,500 off the cost of an electric car, which would mean the Nissan LEAF could be had for around $15,000. As it is though, about 80% of the state tax rebates are claimed by people with an income over $100,000 a year, but just 48% of Tesla buyers ranked the incentives as “important” to their buying decision.

Personally, I feel like if you’re going to incentivize a car purchase, it should necessarily be based in income. The $7,500 Federal tax credit for the Tesla Model S represents about 10% of the cost of the car, and about 20% of the cost of the Nissan LEAF. I always saw the incentives as a way to level the playing field against gas-powered vehicles, as wealthy people tend to be the early adopters of new technology regardless of whether it’s an iPhone or Google Glass or the Tesla Model S. A recent study found that the most attractive incentive wasn’t cash, but rather access to HOV lanes on California’s congested roads.

But I also think giving people a reason to trade in their gas guzzler for an EV, especially aimed at the lower income brackets, could help nudge a few fence sitters into going electric. If I could have bought the Nissan LEAF for the price of my Chevy Sonic (about $18,000) I probably would have; but even with a price cut and a chunky tax credit, the LEAF is just beyond my fiancial reach right now. If the state of Connecticut had chipped in, I probably would be the proud owner of an electric car right now.

How do you think EV incentives should be doled out?

Edmunds: Tesla Model S Is “Hard To Recommend”

The scuttlebutt around the automotive blogosphere has been Edmunds recent 17-month review of the Tesla Model S. After more than 30,000 miles, Edmunds had a lot to say about their time with the Tesla Model S, but ultimately the conclusion they came to was that the electric sedan was “hard to recommend.” Ouch.

The writers and editors of Edmunds found that the Tesla Model S was as powerful and attractive as everybody continues to report, but over time they came to feel that it lacked some features found on competitor’s luxury sedans. More damning was a long list of repairs required of Edmund’s admittedly early-production Model S. The worst of it included three instances where the car died along the road, with the drive unit requiring replacement three times, along with the main battery and center console touchscreen.

However, none of these issues came at any cost to Edmunds it’s important to note, and only two of the visits even required an overnight stay. That’s impressive, considering the entire drivetrain was basically swapped three times, along with that massive battery pack. If nothing else, this shows just how much simpler electric cars are to work with and on. That said, it’s hardly the first report of Tesla drive units failing either.

Another important metric Edmunds measured was resale value, and the Model S shined in this area in particular. After laying out about $105,000 to buy their Model S, Edmunds was able to sell it for $83,000, marking about 20% depreciation. That’s better than many luxury cars, which lose about 25% of their value after the same period of time.

Despite that though, Edmunds comes to the conclusion that;

The Model S is a fast, comfortable and technologically brilliant luxury sedan, but numerous problems with its touchscreen, tires and drivetrain make it hard to recommend.

Are these just the issues to be expected from a car bought so early on in the production cycle? Or is it indicative of bigger issues? To its credit, Tesla claims to have resolved many of these issues in later vehicles, but as the company gets ready to ramp up production, it’s important to have all of these problems ironed out.
Nobody ever said building an electric car company would be easy, after all.

Source: Edmunds

Tesla Q2 Revenue Rises On Increased Production

Tesla has announced second quarter 2014 revenue of $769.3 million, compared to $405.1 million in the second quarter of 2013. That’s nearly a 90% increase. and much of the credit for the higher income goes to the more than 1,000 Model S cars delivered to Chinese customers during April, May and June.

Tesla still reported a net loss of $62.9 million for the second quarter, due to capital spending on its proposed Gigafactory and conversion of its assembly line for production of the Model X SUV. However, the electric automaker also delivered 7,579 Model S sedans during the second quarter while building 8,763 vehicles, putting it on track for over 35,000 deliveries this year.

Tesla has also significantly increased research and development spending from $52.3 million last year to $107.7 million in the second quarter of 2014. Much of that increase is due to development of the newly announced mid-level sedan, the Tesla Model III, due out sometime in 2017.

What does all that mean for investors? Simply that sales are going well and the company is plowing its earnings back into future products and development. A firm in financial trouble usually responds by slashing R&D spending, so the fact that Tesla is increasing funding for R&D should be reassuring news for investors. There are still plenty of potential pitfalls ahead, but so far so good for Tesla.

Source: Gas2

Tesla Conference Call: Model X Demand, Gigafactory Site And Improved Battery Chemistry + Model S Drivetrain

Tesla Model S Debuts In Hong Kong In July (along with a couple of Supercharging Stations)

On Thursday, Tesla reported 2nd quarter earnings that mostly beat analyst expectations, earning 11 cents a share (ex-items) on revenues of $858 million dollars while delivering 7,579 Model S sedans (full details on the report can be found here).

But historically, the real highlights happen on the conference call after the earnings are released – when CEO Elon Musk typically gives his candid view of how things are unfolding inside the company as well as his outlook to the future.

So without further adieu, here is our highlights from that call!

Guidance on 100,000 vehicle run by end of 2015

Production Heading to 100K By 2015′s End

The Tesla CEO was asked about the company’s 100,000 run rate projection by the end of 2015 and how much was coming from China, splits etc.

“We’re expecting that to be roughly split between the X and S. So we’re talking roughly 1,000 units a week of each.”

Mr. Musk also notes that looking at the wider demographics, SUVs are slightly outselling sedans in the wider market, and he expects that may also be the case for the Model X over the S at some point.

Worldwide Stores/Service Centers by end of 2015

The CEO notes that he is just “speaking off the cuff”, but expects “100 in China alone” and more than 300 worldwide

On Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Tech

Elon Musk: Not A Fan Of The FCV

Often Elon Musk likes to give his opinion on hydrogen, so when the Morgan Stanley analyst asked him the question of why the industry seems to be pushing hydrogen so much, and if it was a “bs move” by CARB to rewrite EVs rules – or did they actually believe in the tech?  The CEO let it fly again:

“As you know, I am not the biggest proponent of hydrogen…but really if you take a theoretically optimal fuel cell car and compare that to a car in production – a battery electric car; on key metrics of mass, volume complexity, cost and refilling infrastructure, it’s just…it is a loss. So it’s the best case in our opinion, the best case fuel cell car  (and obviously the fuel cell cars are far from best case), cannot beat the current case electric car, so well why even try it?  That just makes no sense.  Success is not one of the possible outcomes.”

Follow up question from the analyst: “Why are they (CARB) doing this? That is why I asked if it’s BS. Is this just kind of a diversionary tactic or do you think they are just not up on what is up?”

“We are quite confused about this.”- Musk

“It does not make a lot of sense. I mean we didn’t even touch on the infrastructure challenges that hydrogen brings, but building out that infrastructure is substantially more expensive than building out any electric vehicle infrastructure.  And there’s almost none of it today.” - JB Straubel (Tesla CTO)

“…also another thing - hydrogen is an energy carrier not an energy source. So you have to create the hydrogen which is really inefficient because you would either have to crack a hydrocarbon or electrolyzed water” – Musk

“Yeah – which is super inefficient, and then hydrogen has very low density.  So if you are going to pick it as a chemical energy storage mechanism, the hydrogen is a terrible choice.  At least you know, methane, CH4 lock up the hydrogen with one carbon atom or something.

Quality and Model S Drivetrain

Given the recent scrutiny over some drivetrain failure/replacements in the Model S, you just knew the question ‘What’s up with that?’would be posed to the Tesla CEO

Tesla CEO Says Many Of The Drivetrain Replacements Where Unnecessary, But Where Done For Customer Convenience

“We definitely had some quality issues in the beginning for the early serial number of cars, because we’re just basically figuring out how to make the Model S.  And I think we’ve addressed almost all of those early (? – garbled) production cars - I mean not all - but the vast majority have been addressed in cars that are being produced today.  And we’re also getting better at diagnosing what’s wrong, because in some cases we, particularly with respect to the drive unit, we think that something is wrong with the drive unit but it’s actually something wrong with another part of the car. And then we’d replace the drive unit and that wouldn’t solve the problem because the drive unit was not the problem.”

“…there’s a bunch of things like that which are just mis-diagnosis of the problems that we’ve obviously addressed.”

“There are a few items that will need – a fair number of drivetrains will need to be serviced.  It’s actually related to one (problem) to the differential, and we need to shim the differential. It doesn’t require drive unit replacement, it just requires a technician to insert a shim.  We are going to have to do that on a fair number of cars – but that is like a 50 cent shim. 

So it’s really;  I wouldn’t assume that there’s going to be some vast number of drivetrains that will need to replaced, but there is several service bulletins that we will be instituting, many of which we’ve already have to address the issue.”

After speaking about weekly quality control meetings, Mr. Musk was asked if he was happy with the quality control systems in place and his team.  To which the CEO said there had been some trouble, but that they were pretty much there now.

“I think at this point we’ve got a excellent quality control team…and we weren’t there in the beginning but I’m confident that we’re there now. I mean our aspiration is on the order magnitude better quality than any other car. And we will keep at it unrelentingly until we get there.”

Gigafactory:  Nevada, Ground-breaking

Even before Tesla’s disclosure of breaking ground in Nevada, the public had been made aware of the site’s existence and subsequentwork stoppage.  The question was posed to Mr Musk about the ‘why’ and if the company has a “drop-dead” date for being up and running.

Nevada Gigafactory Site (Photo via Bob Tregilus)

“We have  essentially completed the pad, the construction pad for the Gigafactory in Nevada. So in terms of creating a flat pad and getting the rocky foundation that is substantially complete. There’s still a little bit of work ongoing.  We are going to be doing something similar in one or two other states - which is something I previously said we’d do because I think it makes sense to have multiple things going in parallel.

Before we actually go to the next stage of pouring a lot of concrete though we want to make sure we have things sorted out at the state level - that the incentives are there that makes sense,…But I do want to emphasize that Tesla is not going to go for a deal that is unfair to the state or unfair to Tesla. We want to make sure it’s compelling for all parties.   I think on the Nevada side, at this point the ball is on the court of the governor and the state legislature.”

Model X Demand

No Deliveries Of The Model X In Q1 of 2015, But High Production Levels Expected In The Spring

Knowing he is unlikely to get a straight numerical answer on Model X demand, the analyst from JP Morgan asks the Tesla CEO to put Model X backlogged orders in context of what the company was seeing with the Model S in 2012. And what the demos were as to location and if many already owned a Model S.

“I guess what is important to appreciate for the X, that, let’s just put the orders in context. There are no cars available for a test drive. There is no information about the cars in our stores because we are only selling the S.

In fact, if somebody comes in who wants to buy the X, we try to convince them to buy the S,  so we anti-sell it.  We don’t really provide all that much information or details about the car or provide a definitive date on when you can get it. Despite all that, there is huge demand from around the world for the X.  Now I think that actually people are right, even though they don’t …  really have enough information to know they’re right, but they are.”

Will Gigafactory Batteries Have A Different Chemistry?  Improvements?

Gigafactory Cells To Be A Little Bigger/Denser Than What Is In Use Today

“There are some improvements to the chemistry as well as improvements to the geometry of the cell -  so we would expect to see an energy density improvement, and of course a significant cost improvement.” – Musk

“The cathode and anode materials themselves are next generation, so I mean we’re seeing improvements in the maybe 10% to 15% range on the chemistry itself (energy density) – and then we’re also customizing the cell shape and size to further improve the cost efficiency of the cell and the  packaging efficiency.”   - JB Straubel (CTO)

“We’ve done a lot of modeling trying to figure out what’s the optimal cell size. And it’s really not much, it is  not a lot different from where we are right now, but we’re sort of in the roughly 10% more diameter; maybe 10% more height. But then since the cubic function effectively ends up being, just from a geometry standpoint, probably a third more energy for the cell,well maybe 30%ish - then the actual energy density per unit mass increases”

“Fundamentally the chemistry of what is inside is what really defines the cost position though. It’ is often debated what shape and size, but at this point we are developing basically what we feel is the optimum shape and size for the best cost efficiency for an automotive cell.” – JB Straubel (CTO)

Costing on the battery cells is further discussed, and Mr. Musk notes that he would be “disappointed if it took us 10 years to get to $100 a kilowatt-hour pack.”

Source: EV insider

July 2014 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card

Plug-In Sales In The US Apparently Unstoppable As Flawless Record Of Growth Continues In July

What started out as an improving plug-in sales environment in the United States for 2014 has turned into an unstoppable force as the past two month have showed unparalleled growth.

Once Again The Nissan LEAF Leads The Plug-In Charge For July – Logging More Than 3,000 Sales!

Last month an estimated 11,893 plug-ins were sold, which was up43% from June of 2014 – a result that came on the heels of a newall-time high being set in May with just over 12,000 EVs sold.

For July, there will be no new record set as Tesla Motors shifted its production and delivery focus away from the US and into China and RHD (right hand drive) markets, but July 2013′s result of 7,892 plug-ins sold was easily bested thanks to another near-record month by the Nissan LEAF and strong improvements by the rest of the industry as well as new entries from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Heading into June the main points of interest look to be (answers in brackets):

• Can Nissan get close to the record setting 3,117 LEAFs sold in May?  If not, can they set a 17th consecutive monthly sales record? (So close to the record…definitely took down month 17)
• While Chevrolet Volt sales are currently down year-over-year, can the extended range plug-in continue its year long trend of improving sales in successive months? (Yes indeed…and they crossed the 2k mark for the first time!)
• Can the debut of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive match the demand seen behind the BMW i3? (Nope)
• More than 40% of all smart cars (including the petrol ones) sold last month were plug-ins (278), is it possible the little 2 seater can go higher yet?

EDITOR’s NOTE: This list is published as soon as sales kicks off the morning of Friday July 31st, and is then updated in real time as the sales come in over the next 24 hours. So if you don’t see a report on your favorite EV at time of press…just check back a little later – all the numbers are coming!

Additionally, waaaaaay down at the bottom of the story is the 2014 YTD chart as well as the complete 2013 results.

(last update: 6:33pm  August 1st, 2014)

2014 Chevrolet Volt

Chevrolet Volt: For the first time in 2014,  the Chevy Volt crossed the “2k plateau” with 2,020 sales in July.  This marks a month-to-month improve for each session of the year! (full story)

Previously in June, GM moved a respectable 1,777 Volts during the month of June…which means on a month-to-month basis sales have risen each month this year.

Unfortunately, the Volt is one of two plug-in cars on the market today that are stil showing year-over-year declines.  (Mitsu i-MiEV being the other)

For 2014, 10,635 cars have been sold – which is down 8.7% from 2013 when GM moved 11,643 Volts.  Still, if GM can continue the monthly uptrend, the could be in the black fairly soon.

Before 2014 model year production of the Volt ceased, GM decided to once again have the inventory of the extended range car go nuclear – so there is a lot of MY 2014 stock on hand.  Unexpectedly, model year 2015 production kept up the torrid production pace and near 2,000 of those are also now available.

In April we also saw GM officially re-confirm its commitment to the next generation of Volt by holding a press conference to announce a new $449 million dollar investment into 2nd gen Volt production.  The 2nd gen Chevrolet Volt will be a 2016 model and go on sale in the 2nd half of 2015.

2014 Nissan LEAF

Nissan LEAF: Nissan continues to dominate plug-in sales in the US with not only their 17th consecutive monthly record, but setting a near all-time mark with 3,019 sales in June!  (full story here)

Last month in June 2,347 LEAFs were sold.

Overall, Nissan has now sold 15,758 LEAFs in 2014, a 34.6% improvement over the 11,703 sold last year – easily outpacing the field for the top spot.

Also during June, shiny new 2015 model year LEAFs started to creep their way onto dealership lots by the end of June, but the disconnect/switchover from the 2014 MY production has caused LEAF inventories to drop to a precariously low level of just under 20 days supply.

Apparently thin inventory levels was only a momentary problem, as MY 2015 production appears to now be at a previously unseen level.

What once was scarce is now abundant as more than 3,000 2015 LEAFs have shown up at dealerships across the country ready to be sold…that after a month of selling 3,000 copies.

Previously in May Nissan sold more pure electric cars than anyone else had  in history, as an amazing 3,117 LEAFs were sold.

2014 Cadillac ELR

Cadillac ELR: The plug-in Caddy broke out of its sales trends in July, as some aggressive promotional incentives seemed to hit their mark.

In total 188 ELRs were sold – almost double their previous high set last month when 97 copies where sold.

Year to date totals have now hit 578 units!

This month result also brings some sanity to the “days inventory” number that had been well north of 500 for the past few months.  While 250 days worth of ELRs on hand is still not all that great, it is far closer to norm.

Sales should stay strong for the summer GM continues to be willing to put “cash on the hood” to ease the pain the ELR’s $75,995 pricetag.

Of note:  Cadillac has a new boss this month, unfortunately for us (and those following plug-in vehicles) it comes in the form of one historically anti-EV persona - Johan de Nysschen.  (story on that here)

2015 BMW i3

BMW i3: Although sales improved for the second consecutive month, it is still at a level most will feel is disappointing.  In July 363 i3s were sold.

Previously in June, BMW sold a slightly less than expected 358 units, which was still up 7% from May.

In the car’s first month sales, BMW did surprise us then by setting a new record for plug-in sales in a debut month with 336 units sold!

Originally expected in April, some hold-ups with the EPA/Monroney stickers prevented the i3 from getting to customers.

Thankfully this was a short-lived…and BMW delivered both its first BMW i3 REx (to InsideEVs contributor Tom Moloughney) and first all-electric i3 delivery in May.

Surprisingly, the BMW i3 has a healthy amount of inventory around the country, and even grew slightly in July with close to 1,000 copies now available for purchase.

In July, BMW also launched a new low cost DC fast charger that uses the new CCS (COmbo) standard.  BMW says it will charge the i3 80% in about 30 minutes (max power 24 kW) and costs just $6,458 to dealers and approved BMW partners.

2014 Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S: Tesla does not give out exact monthly sales… so we never know for sure what the numbers are until their quarterly updates.

As this is a list of US sales, we are now forced to shift away from tracking strictly production and deliveries for the company overall as they are now delivering throughout Europe…so no one freak out when US sales don’t match total production from here on out.

—

As foretold by the company, Summer of 2014 can loosely be translated as “no soup for you” United States.

Relatively speaking, very little production and/or deliveries of the Model S occurred in July on US soil as Tesla focused on China as well as fulfilling RHD commitments to places like Hong Kong and the UK.

Also not helping July (or August) sales was Tesla shutting down its Fremont assembly facility for two weeks in preparation for the upcoming Model X, and to expand Model S production by 25%.

We estimate that 500 Model S sedans were delivered in the US in July.

Looking ahead, early August will also not yield much in the way of US sales before the more “premium” of Model S deliveries happen late in the month.  September on the other hand, should see Tesla sell cars at the highest rate of the year.

2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class ED

Mercedes-Benz B-Class ED:  With only a few days left on the lots in July to sell the new B-Class electric, Mercedes managed to move41 copies in its debut month.

Refreshingly, the B-Class ED actually showed up a little earlier than originally expected in the United States, with the official launch of the car happening on July 15th.

That being said, and unlike the BMW i3 launch, very little inventory product has yet arrived in the US on dealer lots (~100 units).

The car will be available in limited states in 2014 (CA, CT, MD, OR, NJ, NY, RI and VT) — and then nationwide to the unwashed masses in early 2015. “Job 1″ of B-Class ED production was completed on April 11th (full story here).

The B-Class ED starts from $41,450 ($100 more than the BMW i3) and has an all-electric range “officially” of 87 miles.

However, for an extra $600, one can purchase the extended range package which allows the driver to access more of the B-Class ED’s 36 kWh battery, and allows for an expanded driving range of 104 miles.  A fact that we think might sway more than a few people away from BMW’s $700 cheaper, 81 mile i3.

2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid: For July 63 plug-in Panameras were sold.

Previously in June, Porsche has a strong month with the Panamera, and the S-E Hybrid was no exception selling 111 copies, the 2nd best result to date.

Otuside of the June’s result, it seems as though Porsche has found a fairly consistent selling level for the S-E Hybrid as 52 and 62 were sold in May and April respectively.

The high water maker was set in the first month of the year, with an amazing141 sold.

This month the company announced that the Panamera S-E Hybrid’s SUV successor – the Cayenne S-E Hybrid, will be aggressively priced from$76,400, leaving us little doubt it will sell in far greater numbers than the plug-in Panamera.

The Panamera S E-Hybrid has a combined 416 hp output (333 hp electric) and can get north of 60 mph in about 5 seconds, with a top speed of 167 mph. Pricing starts at $99,000. Also of interest, the S E-Hybrid is currently available at all Porsche dealers nationwide – a rare thing these days.

2014 Chevrolet Spark EV

Chevrolet SPARK EV: Sales of the Spark EV were up about 50% this month to 128 units.

Coming off a fleet-inspired record in May, Spark EV sales normalized a month prior in June with 85 copies being sold.  May’s result was new benchmark for sales on the tiny Chevy was set at 182 units after 97 were moved in April.

During April, we also learned that although the Chevy Spark EV had been cancelled for Europe, but it will be reborn in 2nd gen trim as a Opel Something-Or-Other in about 2 years.

Since then, the rumor du jour has been that the next generation of Chevrolet Sonic will actually be that car…and have a 200 mile range (full story here)

General Motors closed 2013 with 539 Spark EVs sold over all. For 2014, that number has already been passed, with 551 sold.

However, no one should read anything into any monthly sales number when it comes to the Spark EV … at least if they are trying to get a handle on Spark EV demand, as GM basically sets their own monthly sales number by curtailing inventory. GM could sell a lot more if they wanted to. We figure that any 3-digit number probably satisfies GM’s internal projections for the car

2014 Fiat 500e

Fiat 500e: NO DATA TO REPORT YET

When it comes to reporting plug-in sales, we have had another Tesla on our hands here (as in they don’t report sales).

Chrysler/Fiat had been giving us a bit of the stonewall treatment when it comes to reporting 500e sales. But thankfully that ‘black hole of knowledge’ seems to have ended, thanks to data from Baum & Associates via HybridCars (big props).

Previously in  June, 166 electric Fiat 500s were sold, which was just a single unit shy of May’s 167 sold.

Also in the “good news if you live in Oregon” category, Fiat has announced the 500e will arrive in its second US state “this summer.”

As for the car itself, the 500e’s 24 kWh lithium battery has been rated by the EPA to produce 87 miles of all electric range, and MPGe efficiency in the city is pegged at 122, and 108 on the highway, for a combined 116 MPGe figure.

2012 Mitsubishi I (2014s incoming)

Mitsubishi i-MiEV: If you don’s ship any inventory, its hard to sell cars. Mitsu learned this lesson last month in July as only 17 were sold….this result comes on the heels of June’s 22 cars.

The good news for this summer is that ACTUAL NEW 2014 i-MiEVs have finally started to arrive at dealerships in the US after a 1 year hiatus! Kinda.

We have to note that Mitsu has only shipped a ‘token’ amout of little electrickei cars to America so far.

Exiting June, only about 200 2014s in total have found their way onto US dealership lots. We’ll call this the Outlander PHEV effect, as that vehiclesunparalleled success has caused production and battery supply issues for the company.

Currently there is less than 100 2014 model year i-MiEVs available to be had in the US.  Going forward, the return of the 2014 i-MiEV in the late spring from $22,995 means there is going to be a lot of i-MiEV sales to report..at some point…when they fill like selling them.

In 2012 588 were sold, in 2013 there was 1,046 moved; but even with only 6 months of sales left available to the new, inexpensive i-MiEV, Mitsubishi should have no issues destroying these previous marks.

The new pricepoint of $22,995 also INCLUDES standard fast charging and a host of other standard features that used to be options. The MSRP price reduction equals $6,130 less than the outgoing 2012 model. Want to know more about the new cheapest EV in America? Click here!

Our forecast for i-MiEV sales for 2014? Next to nothing until the Fall, then all they can build and ship (which might be a problem according to Mitsu’s Chief) thereafter.

2014 Honda Fit EV

Honda Fit EV: In July 42 electric Hondas were sold, down 27% from 2013 when 63 were moved.

Previoulsy, (and continuing an uninspiring, compliance-lead trend); Honda sold 38 Fit EVs in June.

For the year 263 have now been sold, which is down 26% from the 354 moved through July in 2013.

So, the story continues to be: Inventory, where is the inventory?

Well, there isn’t any, and it isn’t coming as Honda is building about 40-odd units a month until the fall…when they will DISCONTINUE production of the car – that story here. Honda has an estimated 200 Fit EVs left to sell out of inventory heading into July.

So why is the Fit EV America’s most in demand car to be cancelled? Well, Honda has found the holy grail when it comes to selling a limited number of compliance vehicles. Lease them out cheap ($259/month including partial insurance with nothing down)…and give customer unlimited mileage on those leases. (all the details here)

So if you get one…count yourself “lucky”.

2014 smart ED – As Always, Black Is The Proper Choice When Selecting The Color Of An Electric Car

SMART ForTwo Electric Drive:  The smart EV is turning into the surprise hit of 2014, as the company set another sales record in July with 298 sold!  Of note, that was the 5th consecutive monthly record for the ED.

Someone has to be smiling at Daimler’s HQ both this month and last as the smart Ed almost took out the BMW i3 for sales during both months.

Previously,  an astounding 278 fully electric smarts were sold in June.

In May, sales of the smart ED just edged out April’s result (203) with 206 units moved…which bested March’s 186 sales.

The smart EV is now technically available nationally, although there isn’t inventory yet spread out across the country to make physical sales everywhere. However if you are looking for a cabrio edition of the little smart after months of being out of stock, a recent small shipment of those has them available at select locations.

The smart ED is the first plug-in for America to be offered with a “battery rental” option, which brings the cost of the Smart ED down to $19,990, but adds a $80 month battery rental payment, as well as includes a wider (and longer) battery warranty.

Check out all the specs, options and pricing here. The 2-seat Smart electric car gets 68 miles of range from a 17.6 kWh battery.

2014 Ford Fusion Energi

Ford Fusion Energi: NO DATA TO REPORT YET.  And because Ford is “special”, they won’t be releases the numbers until Monday, August 4th

Previously, the Fusion Energi set not only a new personal high for sales in June, but propelled Ford to once again be the top manufacturer of EVs for the month.

Ford sold an astounding 1,939 copies of the electric Fusion this month…which was 44% better than May, the previous best month on record for the Ford.

Of note in June not related to sales: The Ford Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi, both had their EPA ratings slashed by the company, and compensation cheques are heading out to owners.

Both Energi vehicles now have a 88 MPGe rating (down from 100 MPGe), a 38 MPG extended range efficiency (down from 43 MPG) and a 19 mile all-electric range (down from 21 miles) – full story on that here.

For 2013, the Fusion Energi was the surprise hit of the Ford family, finishing the year with just over 6,000 sold – not bad considering it was only introduced in February. he upward trend has continued throughout 2014

The Fusion Energi basically offers the same package as the C-Max Energi, but in a larger sedan package. The third plug-in to be offered from Ford has just been rated by the EPA at a combined 88 MPGe and has an electric range of 19 miles.

2014 Toyota Prius Plug-In

Toyota Prius Plug-In: Sales of the Prius PHV continued to be strong in July as 1,371 were sold, a 61% improvement over 2013.

In June 1,571 plug-in Prius were sold.

Of interest, the only “Prius family” nameplate to show an increase for July was of the plug-in variety.  The same was true last month.

Year-to-date,  10,671 plug-in Prii have been sold so far in 2014, 112% more than last year, when 5,031 moved off lots. The Toyota Prius PHV is now the second best selling plug-in in the US – but just 36 units ahead of the Chevy Volt.

Much like the Nissan LEAF was for almost all of 2013, the Prius PHV has been a demand vs allocation story over the past 5 months since Toyota reduced the price of the plug-in by $2,010 to $4,620. The allure of the car, now from $29,990, has essentially meant Toyota can set the amount they want to sell.

2013 Ford C-Max Energi

Ford C-Max Energi: NO DATA TO REPORT YET.  And because Ford is “special”, they won’t be releases the numbers until Monday, August 4th

While the Fusion Energi posted a surprisingly high number of its own a month prior, the 988 C-Max Energis sold in June was even more significant…considering the non plug-in variant of the C-Mas only sold 1,952copies.

In other words a third of C-Max sales came via the plug.

Of note in June not related to sales: The Ford Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi, both had their EPA ratings slashed by the company, and compensation cheques are heading out to owners.

Both Energi vehicles now have a 88 MPGe rating (down from 100 MPGe), a 38 MPG extended range efficiency (down from 43 MPG) and a 19 mile all-electric range (down from 21 miles) – full story on that here.

For 2013 overall, 7,154 plug-in C-Maxs were sold, good for being the 5th best selling plug-in for America.

In 2013, the high water mark for the C-Max Energi was set in October as 1,092 plug-ins sold. It would not surprise us to see the C-Max Energi live only as long as it takes to introduce a Focus Energi.

2014 Ford Focus Electric

Ford Focus Electric: NO DATA TO REPORT YET.  And because Ford is “special”, they won’t be releases the numbers until Monday, August 4th

Gah! So close to breaking into the fabled ‘two hundreds’ for Ford last month, as 197 Focus EVs were sold in June.

The Focus Electric is the undisputed Oak Tree of plug-in sales as the last18 months (and 21 of last 22) have all notched 100-and-something sales. Oh Ford Focus Electric – you make us sleepy.

Also as announced recently, the Focus got a slightly refreshed look for the 2nd half of 2014. And if you squint really hard, you might be able to spot the changes in the 2015 Focus Electric here.

And no, the battery intrusion into the trunk has not changed – that will have to wait for a full platform upgrade in about 3 years – provided the car continues to be produced alongside the rumored Focus Energi.

2014 Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota RAV4 EV: In July 68 electric SUVs from Toyota made it to customer’s driveways in America

And other than to say Toyota will sell between 50 and 200 RAV4 EVs each month its hard to get a better feel for what future month’s results will bring.

June was no different as 91 were sold, after moving 149 copies in May.

The highest selling level for any one month for the RAV4 EV was August of 2013 when 231 sold.

Overall, Toyota did experience a resurgence in the 2nd half of 2013(~2,600), and they are now decently on their way to selling the required number of EVs to satisfy CARB compliance. Once there, the RAV4 EV is no more. To date,1,811 have been sold in total.

Speaking of which (CARB compliance), the vehicle displacing the RAV4 EV, the Toyota FCV made its official debut in the US in late June…if you are into that sort of thing, check out the story on Toyota’s fuel cell vehicle here.

To bump 2nd half sales Toyota has taken a page out of Honda’s playbook on their compliance vehicle and is now offering the RAV4 EV lease with something the mainstream players can’t – unlimited mileage leases.

How many RAV4 EVs will be sold next month, or this year? No one knows as this is one of the hardest plug-ins to put your finger on – percentage wise no vehicle fluctuates more in sales month-to-month than the Toyota SUV.

2014 Honda Accord Plug-In (via automedia)

Honda Accord Plug-In: Relatively speaking, the Accord plug-in had a decent month by its (pretty low) standards, as 41 were sold in July.

Previously in June, just 28 more Accords were sold; that was after selling 46plug-ins in May… which was also the yearly high if you choose to look at the results through rose-colored glasses.

The all-time, high water mark for sales in any one month was October of 2013 at 71 units.

So, to say Accord PHEV sales are flat in the US would be an understatement.  For the year-to-date 221 have been sold, which is off 13%from last year’s 254 result.

Practically speaking, the Accord plug-in is the anti-Fit EV, as they just can’t sell these things. The classic “we will build it if you ask us to” seems to be in play here, as there is little to no dealer inventory for a customer to just walk in off the streets and drive off in a plug-in Accord.

As for pricing, the Accord PHEV doesn’t come cheap, as Honda has put a sticker of $38,780 on the car, which was markedly higher than consumer expectations for the car.

We expect Honda to revisit incentives on the car in the near future – or maybe just stop offering it entirely. The Accord plug-in has a 13 mile all-electric range, and has been given a MPGe valuation of 115 MPGe, the highest rating of any plug-in extended range vehicle.

UP NEXT

2014 will see the introduction of quite a few new plug-in models, many of them being the premium variety.

BMW i8 Coming This Summer

Here is a list of what is on the horizon, and when it is expected:

• BMW i8: July/August 2014 - about 300 cars allotted for 2014 for fall, more in 2015
• Kia Soul EV: Q3 2014 (details on the car can be found here)
• Tesla Model X: December 2014 – Tesla has said they will make first delivery in 2014, but real production doesn’t get started until April 2015 – so if your last name is Musk or Jurvetson, you might get one in 2014
• VW e-Golf: Late 2014 – still some debate on whether or not thee-Golf will arrive under the wire in 2014

BELOW: Chart of 2014 results so far, as well as 2013 year end results:

2014 Monthly Sales Chart For The Major Plug-In Automakers *Estimated Tesla NA Sales Numbers – Reconciled on Quarterly Totals from Earnings Report (Q1 Sales reported @ 6,457-3,000 Intl Delivers, Q2 7,579 total-approx reported International registrations) *Fiat 500e data estimated for Jan/Feb

2013 Monthly Sales Chart For The Major Plug-In Automakers *Estimated Tesla Numbers have been included in this graph. Tesla Total US Sales Based On Quarterly Disclosures (Q1 & Q2 from filings, Q3 based on shareholder letter, and Q4 based on company estimate of half of sales out of North America) *Fiat 500e estimated based on available data.