Only 293 US egolfs sold in June

[cove3]

http://insideevs.com/june-2015-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/

Down from 410 in May and half the number of i3s (although egolf is only sold in 10 states). 1510 cars for 6 months through June is pathetic. This is a wonderful car and deserves better

Ron

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I agree that is disappointing. The two factors that I think may be affecting sales, are the i3 is usually sold with the REx, and the Leaf has CHAdeMO charging units available. The e-Golf has neither.

 

[normf3]

I think it's just a matter of marketing, and people knowing about it and seeing others driving them. That being said, I got my premium model this past weekend in the most common color of Pacific Blue. There is an identical model in the same color in my neighborhood and I've saw another e-Golf drive by while I was putting water in my wife's disabled Camry. I liked the e-Golf enough before even test-driving it that I didn't even bother looking at the Leaf. Should I have?

Norm
Silicon Valley, CA

 

[GadgetGav]

I looked at the Leaf once, then I couldn't bear to look at it again :lol:

I agree that a lot of the problem is (lack of) marketing. I don't know about the West coast, but over here on the East, I've only seen eGolfs promoted once I'm on a dealer's website and then (obviously) only if they're a dealership that has it. Maybe VW isn't promoting it nationally because it's not sold nationally. Most people I've talked to, when I've said I bought an electric car but not a Tesla, assume it's a Leaf and don't even know that VW makes an EV. Maybe the Leaf didn't have wide name recognition in it's first year, but I recall getting marketing materials from Nissan long before it even launched. Nissan seem keen to promote the Leaf as a distinct model... I wonder if the eGolf suffers by being seen by VW USA as just one of many trim / engine options in the Golf lineup.

 

[Skryll]

I saw one recently, and another one close to where I live, but that one had dealer license plates and reentered the highway going back after exiting, so our guess was that it was a test-drive. The front lights look so cool, I don't sere why not tons more are being sold... maybe its the speed delimiter that is a turnoff.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I think a major hurdle on the west coast is the choice of quick charging port. The CHAdeMO network (which supports the Leaf) is much more robust than the CCS network (which supports the eGolf, among others). The good news is that VW and BMW have joined forces and declared 2015 the "Year of the Infrastructure". Together they hope to kick-start the CCS networks up the east and west coasts. If they are successful, we could very shortly see the eGolf - and to a lesser degree, the BMW i3 - starting to compete much better with the Leaf.

The flip side is that Nissan is rumored to have a 30kWh battery up their sleeve for the 2016 Leaf. VW has talked about a 36kWh battery for the eGolf, but the relative timing will be key. If VW doesn't get a bigger battery until 2017, but Nissan does in 2016, then eGolf sales will certainly plummet in the interim. I'm personally just excited to see VW put its weight into the game. The competition is only getting hotter and with that, we all win!

 

[cove3]

The problem with a bigger battery is you will still have range anxiety, it will weigh more, and it will cost more unless 70% or more is due to battery density breakthrough, which is unlikely. Since most trips are less than 50 miles, the 100 miles I'm getting with the egolf is fine and I use the ice for the few long distance trips and even those if less than 250 miles will eventually be doable with the ccs rollout

Unless you can give me extra miles for little extra cost and little extra weight which will not change the handling characteristics, I don't want or need it

Ron

 

[Carc]

I'm with Ron - the range of a real world 100 miles is just fine for any 2 car household in a major metropolitan area.

And yes the e-golf seems to be getting wildly outsold by the i3 in my neck of the woods. I've only seen one other e-golf in 9 months in an area where electric cars are very popular. Teslas, fiats, leafs, and i3s all day long however. Marketing seems non existent - and little to distinguish from the other golf models - distinctive image seems very important to buyers in this area. Too bad - just a really really great car.

 

[garypen]

I see far more e-Golfs in the Silicon Valley area than i3's. And, those are only the ones I notice.
Unless one can see those LED DRL's in the front, or lack of tailpipe in the back, it's hard to discern from a regular Golf when passing quickly by.

The i3's are much easier to identify due to their Pontiac Aztec-like appearance.

 

[RonDawg]

Unless one can see those LED DRL's in the front, or lack of tailpipe in the back, it's hard to discern from a regular Golf when passing quickly by.

The i3's are much easier to identify due to their Pontiac Aztec-like appearance.

The eGolf SEL also has wheels unique to that model. The LE (and presumably the upcoming SE) models have the base model steelies with hubcaps and are much more difficult to identify from the ICE versions.

i3, like the Leaf, is instantly identifiable no matter the angle.

 

[garypen]

Doh. I forgot about the wheels! But, in a parking lot, where you may not be able to see the lower half, eGolfs look like Golfs, while i3's, Leafs, and Teslas are readily identifiable.

Even so, I have still noticed more eGolfs than i3s in my area. And, there are probably more that I didn't realize were eGolfs due to the normality of its appearance.

 

[Electrikarma]

The upcoming 2016 SE base model actually has identical rims with the SEL. So you have to look really carefully to spot the differences (halogens and parking sensors in the bumpers).

 

[miimura]

VW sold 381 e-Golfs in August 2015.

http://insideevs.com/august-2015-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/

 

[RonDawg]

VW sold 381 e-Golfs in August 2015.

http://insideevs.com/august-2015-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/

And I'm one of the 313 who brought one home in July! :mrgreen:

I wonder who (literally, one sold/leased in all of July in the entire country) bought an Accord PHEV that same month? Even Mercedes managed to sell 10 times as many S550 PHEVs, and I don't recall having yet seen one outside of the last auto show.

 

[dublectric]

VW sold 381 e-Golfs in August 2015.

... and two of the August ones were for my wife and I!

 

[normf3]

The VW dealer must like you.

 

[Skryll]

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ still no reasonable amount per month, GM Bolt already sold 2114 in two months whereas eGolf only sold 625. Very sad, since eGolf is a very good looking car with the light accents, and decent seats, small turning radius, aggressive acceleration, and just is real fun to drive. Looks you would think are important especially when compared to the Leaf that doesnt have that much more range but sold 1805 times which is more than twice that.

Is it lack of advertisement and will to sell it ?

Or is it still only available in some states as a compliance car instead of everywhere ?

IMHO 90% of families with a garage and two cars in there could cut down their monthly costs by replacing the shorter distance car with an eGolf. the market should be big, if properly advertised.

 

[johnnylingo]

whereas eGolf only sold 625. Very sad...Is it lack of advertisement and will to sell it ?

The lack of advertising is on purpose. Electric cars have very low profit margins. Even with the success of the Volt and now Bolt, notice that Chevrolet doesn't showcase them in their ads? They want you to buy a Cruze or Malibu, or better yet, a Tahoe or Silverado truck. But I do think the manufacturers are realizing EVs will turn the corner sometime in the next 5 years when battery prices come down, ranges increase, and chargers are more widespread.

The e-Golf has had very steady sales and been pretty successful as far as electric cars go. It's on pace to pass the 500e and i3 in monthly sales, and with the range increase coming this year I can see it catching the C-max and maybe even the Leaf, both of which are in dire need of update.

 

[RonDawg]

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ still no reasonable amount per month, GM Bolt already sold 2114 in two months whereas eGolf only sold 625. Very sad, since eGolf is a very good looking car with the light accents, and decent seats, small turning radius, aggressive acceleration, and just is real fun to drive. Looks you would think are important especially when compared to the Leaf that doesnt have that much more range but sold 1805 times which is more than twice that.

Is it lack of advertisement and will to sell it ?

Or is it still only available in some states as a compliance car instead of everywhere ?

IMHO 90% of families with a garage and two cars in there could cut down their monthly costs by replacing the shorter distance car with an eGolf. the market should be big, if properly advertised.

Keep in mind that the Leaf is technically* a 50-state car and thus has a higher sales exposure than the eGolf, which is still limited to about a dozen states. As far as the Bolt, as the car has only recently been released to the public, you're looking at pent-up demand from people wanting a longer-range and (somewhat) affordable EV but are sick of waiting for the Tesla Model 3 to come out. The Leaf was the same way when it first came out. Only time will tell if the Bolt can keep up with those sales figures once everybody's orders have been filled.

What's killing most EV sales are cheap gas prices. I was just in Phoenix, AZ where I filled up at Costco for $1.99/gal. Economically, it's very hard for an EV to compete with that especially since with an EV you have disadvantages and limitations over a petroleum-fueled car. Fuel was considerably more expensive when the Leaf came out for MY2011.

*last time I checked, neither of Alaska's two Nissan dealers are Leaf-certified

 

[johnnylingo]

What's killing most EV sales are cheap gas prices. I

Agreed. Here in NorCal it's creeping back up to $3 and is expected to be $4 by July, but we'd have to see prices well over $5 in order for the inconvenience factor to offset the cost savings for the average driver.

I'm a heavy commuter at 1200 miles/month, getting 28 mpg on my ICE. Gas going from $3 to $5 would bump my monthly gas savings from $50 to $150 and nearly pay for the lease of the car itself.