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  • William Maley
    William Maley

    IHS Automotive Says Electric Cars Catching On Faster Than Hybrids

      Are Electric Vehicles Catching On Quicker Than Hybrids?

    While many still think electric vehicles are a niche, a new study from IHS Automotive suggests that EVs are actually catching on more quickly than hybrids when they were first introduced.

    The study looked at the cumulative global sales of the first-generation Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf in the first four years. IHS Automotive found that the Toyota Prius moved 52,200 units from 2000 to 2004. However, the Volt and Leaf have sold more vehicles in their respective four-year timeframes. The Chevrolet Volt and all of its derivatives saw sales of 68,507 units, while the Nissan Leaf saw sales of 96,477 units.

    It should be noted that while Toyota Prius went on sale in 1997 in Japan, IHS Automotive uses 2000 as the starting point for figuring out sales as that is when Toyota launched the model worldwide.

    The IHS Automotive study also points out that early expectations for EVs may have been inflated a lot, causing many to think of early EVs and plug-ins as failures in sales despite the relative success in sales around the world.

    Source: Automobile Magazine

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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    I think once people realize the advantages of electric cars for certain applications, sales will continue to increase at 8-10 percent a year. Grandpa Kettle can still drive his blue air cooled split window without fear, however, as the internal combustion motor isn't going anywhere.

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    The luxury gold carts like the Leaf seem like a green solution but in reality produce even more Green house gas and toxic waste. I believe that they are over blown sales figures for the EV market. They talk about how many are sold and yet you still do not see many of them. Seems most are bought by gov agencies and sit around.

    EV's have their place to help reduce immediate pollution in large congested cities, but outside of that they are not very practical.

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    The luxury gold carts like the Leaf seem like a green solution but in reality produce even more Green house gas and toxic waste. I believe that they are over blown sales figures for the EV market. They talk about how many are sold and yet you still do not see many of them. Seems most are bought by gov agencies and sit around.

    EV's have their place to help reduce immediate pollution in large congested cities, but outside of that they are not very practical.

    Not so sure about that, they are popular here in Ohio. The Tesla is an amazing piece of engineering.

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    The luxury gold carts like the Leaf seem like a green solution but in reality produce even more Green house gas and toxic waste. I believe that they are over blown sales figures for the EV market. They talk about how many are sold and yet you still do not see many of them. Seems most are bought by gov agencies and sit around.

    EV's have their place to help reduce immediate pollution in large congested cities, but outside of that they are not very practical.

    Not so sure about that, they are popular here in Ohio. The Tesla is an amazing piece of engineering.

    Yes it is a great piece of Engineering, but how many can afford a $100,000 electric car.

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    Spark EV seems more remarkable to me.

    Really, the Volt is the way to go. Chevy needs to get a 25k Volt to market and then work on building volume with their system.

    GM needs to get the VOLT system into the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. They would have a sweet FWD CUV and if possible to do it with AWD they would clean up.

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    Looking forward to what the next generation of EVs will bring. The second-generation Volt and LEAF will be MY 2016, as will the $35,000 Tesla rumored to be named Model E. My guess is that Volt will come down another $5,000 in price, and LEAF will have an optional 150-mile range. Tesla should have no problems with demand for Model E; my guess is 100,000 units for the first full year of production. This year, they are on track to deliver 40,000 units of a car that costs twice as much. In the US, Model S is actually the best-selling car with a base MSRP of $60,000 or higher, outselling competitors like A7, CLS, 6 Series Gran Coupe, as well as exec limos like S-Class, 7-series, and A8, and not to mention, all of Jaguar.

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    Spark EV seems more remarkable to me.

    Really, the Volt is the way to go. Chevy needs to get a 25k Volt to market and then work on building volume with their system.

    GM needs to get the VOLT system into the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. They would have a sweet FWD CUV and if possible to do it with AWD they would clean up.

    Absolutely, especially in the near future when people still want to drive SUV's and gas is 5.50 a gallon

    Looking forward to what the next generation of EVs will bring. The second-generation Volt and LEAF will be MY 2016, as will the $35,000 Tesla rumored to be named Model E. My guess is that Volt will come down another $5,000 in price, and LEAF will have an optional 150-mile range. Tesla should have no problems with demand for Model E; my guess is 100,000 units for the first full year of production. This year, they are on track to deliver 40,000 units of a car that costs twice as much. In the US, Model S is actually the best-selling car with a base MSRP of $60,000 or higher, outselling competitors like A7, CLS, 6 Series Gran Coupe, as well as exec limos like S-Class, 7-series, and A8, and not to mention, all of Jaguar.

    In the next ten years, I see myself buying one more premium small car (say, a MK 7 GTI) a model E, and one oddball Auto-x or collector car (think vintage Alfa GTV or something ODD)....a total of three cars...

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