Chevy Bolt Sales Comes On Strong In September Making It The Number One Affordable EV In America

I am happy that Bolt sales are up. It shows that the Bolt is competitive against other EVs and gas powered cars. Tesla sales are still booming, being more than 4 times the Bolt's sales. I believe that Model 3 sales will climb even more when the Chinese Gigafactory comes online this winter, followed by additional sales of the Model Y next year. The Bolt has a mid-cycle refresh coming up, and the Chevy EUV crossover will hopefully be announced later this year with release next year. For competition, Ford should reveal their Mach E crossover soon, with models out next year. And VW should have their ID.4 EV out in the same time frame. So there is a lot to look forward to in the EV market over the next 6 months, after we push through the winter slowing in EV sales.

Tesla has an affordable EV too. It's called the Model 3 Standard Range at $35k before destination. Unfortunately no one wants it. Cheaper than the Bolt at $37k.

I think the term "affordable" is irrelevant. If one is looking at EV sales, who cares if the car is expensive or not. The point is to further EV adoption with a practical product. To that Chevy Bolt is #2 but still far behind Tesla Model 3 in units sold.

I agree that the "affordable" qualifier is not really applicable here. Even the regular Standard Range Plus Model 3 is under $40K before tax credits. My friends just bought a Hyundai Kona EV, and they paid $43K before rebates, which is comparable. Most buyers are not going to quibble about price if the difference is under $5K and the value is there. Interestingly, the Chinese gigafactory is supposed to start producing Model 3s in a couple weeks time for the Asia region, which will help free up U.S. production.

The Model 3s consideration as being an affordable car is not based solely on the special lowest price model alone. Different states have different discounts and subsidies. The MSRP of the Leaf Plus, Hyundai/kia EVs, Bolt and other similar EVs all start at about the same $39K as the Model 3 Standard Range Plus. Some of them have extra features included at that price, and that Model 3 has some extra features included as well. Right now, the average new car price in the U.S. is $37,590. And that qualifies the Tesla Model 3 as affordable to most people, being right in the middle price-wise. Especially when you consider the operating and maintenance costs of the Model 3 compared to gas cars that are cheaper to buy initially. In California, that explains why it is the third best selling new car, and the 6th best selling car in the U.S. this quarter.

You regularly use the term affordable EV to exclude the Tesla Model 3 from EV comparisons. The average new truck in the U.S. costs $48K, does that mean that trucks are not affordable? Because over 2 million Americans who bought new pickup trucks last year would disagree with you. I used the Hyundai EV as an example because it is one of the few under $40K, long range EVs that are being sold today, and particularly because my friend actually bought one recently, so the discussion is not entirely academic. I do understand an appreciate your coverage of EVs like the Bolt, Leaf, and Prius Prime that can have a combination of incentives available in certain regions that bring their out the door prices down to the level of a gas powered Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. But I think that seeing that Model 3 buyers are largely moving up from those same economy cars into their first EV, that you should not exclude cars like the Model 3 because it costs a few thousand more, or cars like the Hyundai/Kia EVs because they don't sell enough of them, or even the Clarity EV because it doesn't have the EV range of the others.

Thanks John. Even though we do not always agree, I do enjoy reading your articles. The current price range of the Model 3 on Tesla's website is from $39K to $56K before options and discounts. I believe that Tesla's Model 3 sales were the biggest contributing factor to the average price of an EV in the US dropping by 13.4% from last year's average price of $64,300 to $55,600 in 2019. Certainly the Chevy Bolt and Leaf also contributed to this nationwide EV price drop, but the far greater sales volume of the Model 3 likely had the greatest impact in lowering the national EV price average. My take is that affordable EVs are under $40K (before discounts). 6 years ago the MSRP on my first Volt was $40K, so I see it as real progress that we now have a variety of long range EVs that can be bought for under $40K like the Model 3, Kona, Leaf, and Bolt. My friends owned a gas powered Kia Soul, and they wanted the new Soul EV, but the Niro came out first. Unfortunately the Niro was in short supply and high demand at it's introduction, so I suggested that they look at the Hyundai Kona EV instead, and they were able to get one right away. It is a little smaller than the Niro, but it was less expensive, quicker, had a longer EV range, and my friends love the car. They could have easily gotten a Model 3 for the $44K that they paid for the Kona, but they still had the idea that Tesla's were too expensive, plus they also had a good experience with the Kia/Hyundai dealer and brand, and they liked the style and usability of the Kona, which was a lot like their Soul (which they also kept).