Plug-In Prius Sales Push Plug-in Hybrids Way Ahead of EVs

By Eric Loveday · October 03, 2012

Yesterday, we reported that both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF set sales records in September. Now, if we add sales of the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid—which were two units shy of matching its best month—the decisive lead of plug-in hybrids over EVs becomes crystal clear.

Toyota reported late yesterday that sales of the Prius Plug-In checked in at 1,652 units last month. In terms of year-to-date numbers, sales of the Prius Plug-In now stand at 7,734.

Add those units to the Volt's 16,348 sales, and you get a total of 24,082 cars that can run on grid-supplied energy, but that also have a gas engine on board. That contrasts with just 5,212 YTD sales of the LEAF. Even if you generously add about 1,000 combined sales of Mitsubishi i, Tesla Model S, Ford Focus Electric, Honda Fit EV, Smart ED, and BMW ActiveE, the grand total of EV sales in the U.S. in 2012 is about one-third of the PHEV numbers. When Ford releases plug-in hybrid versions of the C-Max and Fusion—and Honda with the Accord PHEV—the numbers of plug-in hybrids to pure EVs are likely to become more lopsided.

The numbers raise a number of important questions: How long will the dominance of plug-in hybrids over EVs last? What's it going to take to produce an EV with the right range at the right cost to create a hit? If plug-in hybrids, with relatively small batteries, can do just fine with home charging off 120v, has all the talk about public charging infrastructure been overblown? With a growing market for hybrids, can automakers start to add plug-in versions to those gas-electric models, as the most feasible approach to displacing gas-powered miles with electric ones?

About the author

· Eric Loveday

Eric Loveday is an automotive enthusiast who is passionate about everything auto. He purchased a 1970 Chevelle at age 16, quickly outgrew its dated engineering and outrageous consumption of gasoline, and sold it off. Eric developed a true passion for automotive writing after graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in print journalism. Eric spent most of his time since then ...

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Comments

· Spec (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

It is going to take a big rise in gas prices or a big drop in battery prices for pure EVs to pass PHEVs. Hats off to GM, they were correct in that people don't want to deal with "range anxiety" and having to get a charger installed.

I think the big action is going to be finding the PHEV "sweet spot" in terms of electric range, battery-size, max electric speed, price, etc.

· Benjamin Nead · 32 weeks ago

Anyone who has read more than a couple of my posts will know I'm rooting for more pure EVs. That said, I don't have blinders attached so firmly not to see that PHEVs are very practical and are what's going to sell most in the near term.

The local Chevy dealer and I just exchanged a couple of emails. We met in person at the National Plug In Day event I helped organized here in Tucson and he has kindly offered me a chance to live with a Volt for a little while. At the very least, I'm going to give the car a good test drive someday soon and arrange to have them show it to our local electric car club.

My further thoughts to him was to keep me apprised when (I hope it's not "if") Chevy has a Spark EV available in Arizona, as this would be a perfect drop-in replacement for my well worn '95 Saturn, which I use almost exclusively for short commutes and typically with no passengers on board.

Our minivan, though, is the workaholic that goes out of town on long trips and hauls 4 or more chamber musicians - with instruments - to concerts. With the seats folded down, it's also what brings gardening supplies and hardware back from the big box store. The only thing we don't like about minivans (we've owned several) is the mileage. This is especially frustrating when my wife uses it in much the same way as I do with the Saturn: for super-short work commutes, with no passengers or appreciable cargo on board.

The logical answer here would be a minivan (some would prefer a small SUV, but I digress) with a Voltec drivetrain.

· Bret (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

@ Spec

Not only is it going to take a big price drop, it's going to take a lot more range.

As I have said before on here, when 200-300 mile BEVs are available for $20-25K, it will be a game changer. Let's just hope Envia comes through and those vehicles become available to consumers in the next couple of years.

I also believe EREVs / PHEVs will be a popular category in the future. I just wish the PI Prius and C-Max had more range. This will happen when battery prices drop.

· David K. (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

You need one of each! Let the wife drive the PHEV and you the EV, switch with her if you need more range. It's not complicated...

· tterbo · 32 weeks ago

I wouldn't really worry about hybrids vs pure EVs. $4-$5 gas I think is quite a motivator to keep the plugin-hybrids charged. If somebody's paying the premium for a plugin hybrid but then continuing to pay the regular premium for gas, well...

· Benjamin Nead · 32 weeks ago

Not sure, David K, if you were replying to me or Spec but, yes, that's essentially what we do now . . . I'm in the small car with light duty requirements (which a pure EV would easily replace) and my wife's minivan is the one with chameleon-like cargo/range requirements (which I'm hoping a Voltec drivetrain minivan can replace one day.)

Envia batteries are exciting, but they're still vaporware right now. Having just witnessed what happened to Leafs down here in Arizona (and I hope Nissan recovers, addresses their battery's heat problems - as well as their current customer's concerns - and moves forward,) I'd be leery of longer range batteries if they couldn't pass the Phoenix summer death test.

A123 EXTs are also vaporware, but only by months instead of years. Energy density appears to be the same as what we've got now, and that's fine for my requirements. Their promise is consistent durability and power output in temperature extremes.

Just give me a tiny EV with range similar to today's Leaf, price it in the low $20K range and have use batteries that would be equally at home in Death Valley or the Arctic Circle. If that's here in 2014/15, I'm in. If the currently-vaporware PHEV minivan arrives a couple years beyond that, all the better.

· Dave (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

I'm still looking for someone to come out with a simple EV for commuting. The Leaf is awesome, but dump the back seat, the bells and whistles, and get me to work and back with some climate control, manual windows, and an am/fm radio. Drop the price, and make dang sure I can get to work and back (call it 50 miles) for the next 8 years even if it's really cold, or really really hot like in AZ, without replacing a battery. Get the states to insure drivers and not cars so we can own a commuter and a tripper. We have a Leaf, and it's awesome, but GPS on a commuter car, and growing "trees?" Why should we pay extra for that? This is doable today. Just do it! We don't need the onboard generator for the 50 mile commuter car, just another unnecessary expense.

· Volume Van (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Sweet news. So just 2 Plugins (Volt & PIP) has notched 4,000 unit sales. This is more than the sales of all Hybrid SUVs put together.

Infact in the 2nd year of Hybrid sales, they did not cross even 1,500 in sales with Prius-I and Insight-I.

Yes the C-Max Plugin comes before winter with 119 cu. ft. interior volume which is 4 more than PIPs 115 cu. ft. and 19 more than Volts 99 cu. ft. This model also has 20 mile range which is better than PIPs 11 mile range and should sell even better.

That leaves Tesla Model S as the only hopeful among EVs to perform. And others may follow it if it succeeds. Lets see.

· Max Reid (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Sales of other EVs

http://www.edmunds.com/ford/c-max-energi/2013/features-specs.html?style=...

Focus - 59
Fit - 16

So overall, EV sales exceeded 1,000. Tesla should have sold atleast 100 and that's the real hope among EV supporters.

· Benjamin Nead · 32 weeks ago

Bingo, Dave! This has been my byline for years. I got to borrow a Leaf for a few weeks and I found it to be a marvelous substitute for my Saturn. But, yes, things like the moving map LCD on the dashboard in a city commuter car is massive techno-toy overkill. Fix the battery to work in any climate, take away some of the bourgeoisie gingerbread and then you've got a very solid car.

It's not worth flogging the range extender argument again. Those cars serve a useful purpose and, for now, it's what the majority in the plug-in marketplace wants. Chevy really has seemed to have done it right with the Volt. But a pure no-frills EV in a subcompact format hasn't really been done yet.

· EVlvr (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Dave, your wish has come true - Smart EV is a go and will cost around $25k BEFORE tax credit - the perfect 2nd car!

As for the PIP, I am underwhelmed by all the things it can't do electrically, and have a hard time accepting it as anything more than a pretender, something Toyota quickly cobbled up and threw out to market so they could keep GM from outright stealing the prestige of leadership in the green segment of car sales.

But it is a Prius, and because of that it will sell just as Kraft American cheese will sell because Kraft is a safe, established food brand. Disappointing, really.......

· Volume Van (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Hello friend

If your daily commute is just 10 miles, then its worth buying Prius. At 10 miles / day and driving 300 days / year (including 1 day weekend shopping), you can drive 3,000 miles / year in PIP in Electric mode. It does not matter which it is a Plugin or Range extender.

After all, Prius PIP has 115 cu. ft. of interior volume compared to Volts 99 cu. ft. and also Prius PIP is 5 seater. I support both cars, but even better is C-Max plugin which has 119 cu. ft. and 20 mile range. This could outsell both Volt & PIP. It gets exciting.

Plugins & Hybrids competing head to head. Our objective is to reduce oil consumption.

· Volume Van (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Where are those who compared Prius V with Toyota Matrix saying that both were wagons even though Prius V is much longer, taller & wider.

Toyota Matrix will be discontinued soon.
http://wardsauto.com/management-amp-strategy/toyota-pulls-plug-matrix-us

· smithjim1961 · 32 weeks ago

PHEVs are a bridge technology between ICE-only cars and pure EVs. How far does the bridge take us? Data collected through OnStar showed that 2/3 of miles driven in the Volt are in EV mode. I don't know about other PHEVs but the Volt takes us 2/3 of the way across the metaphorical bridge. Over time, PHEVs will incrementally add more battery capacity and EV range. Eventually, the ICE will become unnecessary. It's just a matter of time.

· ChristineAndrewsMauiEAA (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

PHEV are great, but for those with PV, Pike Research has found that all-electrics with 100 mile range, such as the Leaf, have the lowest total cost of ownership over a lifetime of 120,000 miles of any car made, period! Here in Maui, with some of the highest gas (and electricity) prices in the country, going all-electric not only frees us from the gas monster, it allows us to store our excess renewable energy and break the cycle of oil dependence that holds us hostage. PHEV are great, but BEV have the capacity to store our excess renewable energy and serve not only as clean transportation, but also as distributed energy storage. That's a win (clean energy), win (clean transportation), win (energy storage). PHEV can't achieve that for us!

· Anonymous1 (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

Benjamin Nead · But a pure no-frills EV in a subcompact format hasn't really been done yet.

Unfortunately you are correct....got to pump up the prices for dealer (and mfr) profits. Try finding even a BWM or Corvette thats not loaded up. I'd bet when a no-frills comes along, it'll be Toyota or Honda, and i'm a Chevy guy.

· Benjamin Nead · 32 weeks ago

Well, Anonymous, the idea of a no-frills entry level EV could be the topic of an entire article. In this gadget-oriented age, asking for a car that is as bare-bones as my old '64 Volkswagen Beetle is probably an unrealistic expectation. I still do it, though. New cars that try to adopt the entry level metric of the old VW Bug are undoubtedly safer today, hence, more complex and (factoring for inflation) more expensive. I guess it's a given that anything with 10 airbags is also going to have GPS and Bluetooth connectivity thrown in for good measure. So, we can ask for an EV without power windows, but we're probably not going to get it.

As for a rundown of the brands you mention . . .

Toyota's little EV, the iQ, is dead in the water, with their CEO all but declaring recently the pure EV as frivolous and unnecessary . We'll get an expensive RAV4 EV with a big Tesla battery and limited availability sometime soon, but that's not exactly an around-town budget commuter car we're thinking of. Smaller cars from Toyota will be hybrids for the foreseeable future. Let's hope that most will also be plug-ins.

Honda has the Fit EV, which has gotten rave reviews, but is generally unavailable to most . . . yet another California compliance car. Honda has got a lot of R&D money invested in hydrogen and that will probably be their big gamble a few years from now.

BMW seems fairly serious about electrics and is doing much in the way of consumer testing (see Tom Moloughney's comprehensive articles on this blog,) but they're an upscale luxury brand to begin with. That little i3, due to launch next year? It's probably going to be in the $40K price range.

Nissan's Leaf is closest thing we've got to an everyman EV right now. There are tens of thousands of them all over the world. Generally, it's a very good car but, with a battery thermal management system that clearly needs a makeover, that's what's (pun intended) sucking the energy out of it for the moment. Some will question the styling. I certainly have. But it's housing a functional format and has a 5 star crash rating. Let's hope it rebounds and prospers.

I guess we're still waiting for the Mitsubishi i to become more available. I haven't driven one yet - much less seen one - but it's been given mixed reviews in terms of handling and acceleration. It's even more avant garde in respect to styling than the Leaf, which is no mean feat. It does have a rather expansive interior, though, so there's clearly functionality in a small package. I'll pass further judgment until I actually get to experience one myself. I certainly haven't scratched it off my list.

I guess I'm also a Chevy guy. This was the favored brand of my father for most of the 40+ he was driving. His first, I think it was a used 1932, replaced his 1930 Ford Model A. My preference for the brand is shown on my profile here. The current ride, my '95 Saturn, might as well be a Chevy, in that it shares much the GM entry level bloodline.

Which brings me to my recent fascination with the Spark EV, which has more Korean roots than American ones. If Chevy actually makes it available, it will be going up against Mitsubishi's i, as they are about the same size. I'm not wild about the styling. The headlight pods look like they could have been lifted from a Leaf by way of a 1960s Outer Limits TV monster and paired with a front grill borrowed from a Mack truck. But the rest of it appears eminently functional. Creature comforts seem good and, while nobody will choose it for slalom racing, it's reported to have decent handling and (as does the i, apparently) survives well in a crash . . .

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/09/crash-tested-euro-ncap-beats-up-2009...

Elsewhere, I've detailed the assets of the motor and A123 EXT batteries proposed to go into the Spark EV. Especially given the heat resistant characteristics of those cells - and contrasting this to the Leaf's recent trouble in that area - this is an especially salient point.
I just hope Chevy doesn't keep it in the compliance car category forever.

· Anonymous (not verified) · 32 weeks ago

As a new Volt (2013) owner, I am finding that the range-extended aspect of the car - as my one-and-only vehicle, which is always a factor - comes into play. A big issue is the cost of public charging: Blink, which is the primary provider of public charging stations here in the D/FW area, just started charging a fee for use. And for plug-in/range-extended vehicles, the math at the current fee rates does not add up for public charging: it's actually cheaper for me to burn the small amount of gas for the miles over the ~40 of my all-electric range than to pay the rounded-up hourly charging rates. Part of this comes from the Volt's slow charging rate - but the other side is that the "Charge Sustaining" (gas-driven) side is reasonably efficient (about 45 actual MPG). Choosing to charge away from home becomes an issue of convenience instead of cost - the fees need to be in the $.50 or $.75/hr area (without excessive membership fees) for it to make sense in a range-extended car.

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Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

Plug-In Prius Sales Push Plug-in Hybrids Way Ahead of EVs

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