The ONLY EVs Buyers Care About Are TESLAs and BMW's i Cars — What Are The OTHERS Doing SO Wrong?

So, not sure if you boys and girls were aware but I have my daily commute into New York City from northern New Jersey. I see a lot of interesting daily drivers and it really gives me a good idea of what the typical buyer is looking for. In addition, it also gives me a glimpse into what enthusiasts turn to for daily driving duty.

And then there's the electric vehicles (EVs).

I have to say straight away they're not all that common. What I do see an overwhelming amount of are Tesla Model S vehicles. Every now and then there's a Model X. Following behind the Model S though is the i3 and i8 with a much greater frequency of i8s being spotted in the last six months. It's actually surprising how often I see i8s in Manhattan these days.

Having said that, it's clear that the buyer's checkbooks have spoken. So, what are the OTHER EVs doing SO wrong that the buying public simply isn't captivated by those products?

While I see plenty of Toyota Priuses and the occasional Ford Fusion Hybrid, I do not see the plug-in variants. Nor do I see the Nissan Leaf. Why is this? Also, we have noticed in the posting of our EV content that there's always SIGNIFICANT interest in stories related to TSLA and the BMW i products; however, when it comes to the others it's a ghost town.

Let us know in the comments below!

runninglogan1 - 7/28/2017 6:53:31 PM

-8 Boost

Can't wait to finally hear all the deets on this car. Pretty sure it's going to be a home run!

TheSteve - 7/28/2017 6:56:24 PM

+14 Boost

I believe your basic premise is wrong. According to this link (http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/), and others like it reporting EV sales for 2017, the Nissan Leaf outsells the BMW i3 by over 2:1, and the Fiat 500e outsells the BW i3 by nearly 30%. It's clearly not just Tesla and BMW.

Some fact-checking is in order.

vdiv - 7/28/2017 7:11:08 PM

-5 Boost

Not on this site. Only fake news are allowed here.

TomM - 7/28/2017 8:11:29 PM

+10 Boost

Indeed - in fact around the world - Tesla is an also ran to Nissan and Renault - and even Mitsubishi in in the top sellers as well.

And while YOU see a lot of these cars which apparently gives YOU an idea of what the typical buyer wants - and I lived in NJ and commuted to NYC as well - the idea that the commuter traffic to NYC is TYPICAL is not established - much less that the commuters YOU SAW were typical as well.

The fact is - the public is not captivated by EV's in general(You should be able to see that in your commute) - and the total sales of Tesla and the BMWI series are insignificant compared to several individual ICE cars alone. ANd it is not because the others are doing wrong - it is because there is little incentive to actually buy these experimental vehicles at this time. May three years into the Model 3 - we might have better knowledge of how they last - but right now - they are nothing more than oddities that most people don't care for.

vdiv - 7/29/2017 12:30:32 AM

-6 Boost

TomM it kind of depends on where you are. The public is very captivated in California, in Denver, in Washington DC, in Western Europe. You see EVs everywhere. In Silly Valley there are almost as many Teslas as there are Civics, it is getting ridiculous.

TomM - 7/29/2017 6:38:19 AM

+11 Boost

vdiv - that is the point. The commuter traffic in NYC is largely composed of two industries - the garment and Financial industries and likely far more of the latter. The average person who works in NYC is NOT representative of the nation at large - nor even the three states involved. And those who live in Northern Jersey are generally far better off than that as well - since the property taxes prevent lower income workers from moving there.

As BobM has pointed out - the production of Lithium uses toxic materials - and that makes lithium Batteries not as green as people assume. In addition - we already have a predicted shortage of lithium - whose production currently cannot keep up with projected use in a matter of a few years. So - lithium batteries will not come down in price - but rather may even increase in price.

Still - the sales of Tesla cars and IBMW cars in the USA are miniscule compared to the overall market -and even much lower than in California. Tesla - for instance - has 3 sales sites in NJ - all in the north - and ONE in Connecticut. How that will be able to support the number of projected sales is beyond me. ANd people are not rushing out to buy EVs of any kind - after all - the first Model 3s are all spoken for. THere is simply too small a sample - and especially if you are looking from the point of view of ONE driver who uses only ONE of the dozens of routes going to NYC (ANd of course based on is Recollections - not even a COUNT) - to be significant.

vdiv - 7/29/2017 11:09:13 AM

-4 Boost

BobM, the hate oozing from your statements doesn't help you. Your lithium boogeyman is a joke. The solid state batteries Toyota is allegedly pursuing also use lithium based chemistry.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/toyotas-next-move-solid-state-batteries

You eat about 5mg of lithium daily, and if on medication as mush as 2 grams. Lithium as a salt is everywhere. Relative to the toxicity of hydrocarbons and the carcinogens of particulate emissions from ICE lithium and other metals are contained in the battery for the life of the car.

MDarringer - 7/29/2017 1:15:00 PM

+3 Boost

And then the car is dismantled and the batteries sent to landfill.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 7/29/2017 10:48:50 AM

+1 Boost

In my area there are Kia's, Toyota's, Lexus, BMW, Chevy and Tesla BEV's and Hybrid vehicles. I believe the Toyota Prius likely outsells everyone by a wide margin.

vdiv - 7/30/2017 10:48:52 AM

-3 Boost

And so far that is not happening. Batteries from crashed EVs are heavily coveted on the parts market to live another live in EV conversions, restorations or as stationary storage. Too valuable to be thrown away.