USA December 2017

Chevy Bolt joins the Tesla Fest 

A record 26.000 plug-in units were registered last month in the USA, a slight 5% increase over the previous record month, December '16, and pulling the YTD count to almost 200.000 units, a 26% growth over the same period last year, with the 2017 year ending with PEV share of 1.2%, the first time the US market ends north of the all-important 1% barrier.

We became used to 1-2 wins from Tesla in the last-month-of-quarter-months, and December was no exception, but the big news were the Chevrolet Bolt almost stealing Silver from the Model X (3227 Bolt vs 3300 Model X), with a new deliveries record, making a streak of seven eight nine months of record performances, while at the same time, it ended the year between both Teslas, in Second Place, replacing its ageing cousin, the Volt, which was Second in 2016. With plateauing sales of the 2017 Best Seller Model S and Bronze medalist Model X, the small GM hatchback is the strongest candidate to the runner-up place in 2018.

Because we all know who will be the 2018 Best Seller...Right?

Speaking of the Tesla Model 3, the new Tesla baby was #6 in December, with little over 1.000 deliveries, a new high for the  sports sedan, pulling it to #21 in the 2017 ranking, just outside this Top 20, with close to 1.800 deliveries.

How high will it reach in 2018? 150k? More? Please place your bets.

Looking elsewhere, the Toyota Prius Prime ended the year in Fourth, with close to 21k deliveries, while the Chevrolet Volt was only Fifth, its worst position since it landed, in 2010, all while losing the Best Selling PHEV status to the Toyota model.

The Volt II wrinkles are showing early in its life, no doubt suffering from internal (Bolt) and external (Prius Prime, Clarity PHEV) competition.

In a record month, several models hit new personal best, like the Honda Clarity BEV, with 527 deliveries (Not bad for a compliance vehicle...), the Hyundai Ioniq BEV (79 units - Now say: "Compliance"), or the 368 units of the Volvo XC90 PHEV. 

But the XC90 wasn't the only Volvo to shine, the Swedish brand had a memorable month in December, with their two new models, the XC60 PHEV (174 units) and S90 PHEV (52) also registering record months.  

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, Tesla (25%, up 2%) ended the year ahead of Chevrolet (22%, down 1%) with the Palo Alto manufacturer collecting its Fifth manufacturers title, the third in a row.

In Third Place we have Toyota (10%, down 1%), that had to look frequently to the rearviewmirror, as the rising BMW ended just 200 units behind. As for Ford, the 2016 Third Placed, it ended only in Fifth, and with no major news for 2018, the American brand will have a rough time this year...

Looking at Fuel Cells, this is currently a Toyota thing, as the Mirai was responsible for 78% of registrations in 2017, with 1.838 deliveries. Overall, the market grew 112%, to 2.298 units, or 0.01% share...Basically, FCEVs continue "stuck" in 2010.

Let's remember PEVs registered over 18.000 units in 2011, which poses the question: Will Fuel Cells ever jump into 2011?

Pl	USA	Nov.	YTD	%
1	Tesla Model S  e)	4975	27060	14
2	Chevrolet Bolt EV	3227	23297	12
3	Tesla Model X  e)	3300	21315	11
4	Toyota Prius Prime	2420	20936	10
5	Chevrolet Volt	1937	20349	10
6	Nissan Leaf	102	11230	6
7	Ford Fusion Energi	875	9632	5
8	Ford C-Max Energi	436	8140	4
9	BMW  i3	672	6276	3
10	Fiat 500e	385	5380	3
11	BMW X5 PHEV	832	5349	3
12	Chr. Pacifica PHEV	720	4597	2
13	BMW 330e	363	4141	2
14	BMW 530e	706	3772	2
15	Volkswagen e-Golf	343	3534	2
16	Audi A3 e-Tron	270	2877	1
17	Hyundai Sonata PHEV	195	2535	1
18	Volvo XC90 PHEV	368	2196	1
19	Kia Soul EV	204	2157	1
20	Ford Focus Electric	113	1817	1
	Others	4028	15428
	TOTAL	26103	199822

e) Estimate

Chevrolet Bolt & Others

Pl	Model	Dec. Sales
1	Nissan Versa	7.125
2	Hyundai Accent	5.205
3	Ford Fiesta	3.657
4	Honda Fit	3.434
5	Chevrolet Bolt	3.227

Looking at the Sub-Compact cars class, the Chevrolet Bolt is starting to make itself noticed, reaching Fifth Place in December, trailing its ICE relative, the Chevrolet Sonic, that registered only 1.946 units, down 70%(!) regarding the same month last year.

Looking into 2018, as the Bolt sales continue to expand, i think it's safe to say that the last place in the Subcompact podium is not only possible, but also likely.

Tesla Model S & Others

Pl	Model	2017 Sales
1	Mercedes E/CLS-Class	51.312
2	BMW 5-Series	40.658
3	Tesla Model S	27.060
4	Audi A6	16.304
5	Mercedes S-Class	15.888

Looking at the full-size vehicles, nothing really new here, the top two continue in their usual positions, with the Model S collecting another Bronze Medal, while below it, the Mercedes S-Class and Audi A6 ended well below the Californian.

If all is business as usual in Model S territory, the Model X on the other hand, has a harder time, ending the year in sixth, recording 21.315 deliveries in a fast growing segment, far from the 30.996 units of the Fifth Placed Volvo XC90, and miles behind the 54.595 units of the leader Mercedes GLE-Class.