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| Back to #1 |
(Small) Recovery Edition
With sales above 6.000 units, the numbers were up 5% YoY, it looks that the US EV market is back in positive territory for good.
After two years away from the leadership, the Chevy Volt is back at #1, although numbers are still small (It's January, slowest selling month of the year), it is a positive sign or recovery for the american car, now in its second generation.
After a deliveries push in the last couple of months, the 2015 leader, Tesla Model S, slowed down and dropped to #2, something that can be explained for being the first month of the Quarter (Is always the slowest), but also because of the ramping up of production of the Model X, #5 in January with 370 deliveries, how high in the ranking the Electric-Sports-SUV-Minivan will reach? It all depends on Tesla priorities, but i wouldn't be surprised to see it fight for a podium seat once it is on full-production mode.
The #3 Nissan Leaf started the year with 755 units, its worst January since 2013, while the most recent arrivals continue to have encouraging performances, like the Audi A3 e-Tron (327 units) already reaching its cousin VW e-Golf in the ranking, the Volvo XC90 PHEV reaching #10, with 226 units, ahead of last year class leader, Porsche Cayenne Plug-In (146 units) and BMW X5 PHEV (181). Good performance also by the Hyundai Sonata Plug-In (175 sales) continuing to improve its sales level.
In the manufacturers ranking, Tesla (19%) started ahead, but Chevrolet (18%) and Ford (16%) are too close for the all-electric brand to rest.
| Pl | USA | Jan. | YTD | % |
| 1 | Chevrolet Volt | 996 | 996 | 16 |
| 2 | Tesla Model S e) | 809 | 809 | 13 |
| 3 | Nissan Leaf | 755 | 755 | 12 |
| 4 | Ford Fusion Energi | 581 | 581 | 9 |
| 5 | Tesla Model X | 370 | 370 | 6 |
| 6 | Ford C-Max Energi | 350 | 350 | 6 |
| 7 | Volkswagen e-Golf | 328 | 328 | 5 |
| 8 | Audi A3 e-Tron | 327 | 327 | 5 |
| 9 | Fiat 500e | 275 | 275 | 4 |
| 10 | Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV | 226 | 226 | 4 |
| 11 | BMW i3 | 182 | 182 | 3 |
| 12 13 14 15 | BMW X5 40e PHEV Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Chevrolet Spark EV | 181 175 146139 | 181 175 146 139 | 3 3 2 2 |
| 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | Kia Soul EV Cadillac ELR Ford Focus Electric Mercedes B250e Smart Fortwo ED BMW i8 Por. Panamera Plug-In Mercedes S550e Toyota Prius Plug-In Mitsubishi I-Miev | 81 6766 58 48 32 27 1910 2 | 81 6766 1958 48 32 27 10 2 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 |
| TOTAL | 6.250 | 6.250 | 100 |
e) Estimate
Source: insideevs.com; Good Car Bad Car
Tesla vs The Others
As Elon Musk pointed out, the real competition of Tesla aren't other EV's, but the ICE best selling models, so let's look how the Model S stands in its own domestic market (1):
| Pl | Model | 2016 |
| 1 | BMW 5-Series | 3.795 |
| 2 | Mercedes E-Class | 2.503 |
| 3 | Lexus GS | 1.295 |
| 4 | Cadillac CTS | 1.013 |
| 5 6 | Audi A6 Tesla Model S e) | 841 809 |
For the first month of 2016, the Model S had a slow sales month, with the Lexus GS, Cadillac CTS and Audi A6 all surpassing it.
(1) - Unlike markets across the pond, the full-size car market in the US is much more diversified, with Chevy Impalas, Malibu's, Chrysler 300, Dodge Chargers, etc, all theoretical adversaries to the Model S, but Tesla's direct competition isn't there, so the Model S is only compared with cars with similar price and concept.
