Search Results Found For: "dealerships "

New venture aims to redefine the EV buying experience

Auto dealerships have emerged as a major roadblock on the way to widespread EV adoption. Most (but not all) dealers have little knowledge of or interest in EVs, and some actively discourage customers from buying. Tesla’s direct-sales model seems to work well enough, but even the Prophets of Palo Alto can’t save the world alone…. Read more »

Tesla direct sales ban in Connecticut stands, thanks partly to GM lobbying

Tesla’s ongoing crusade to be allowed to sell its vehicles directly to consumers recently suffered a setback in Connecticut, where a pro-Tesla bill failed for the second consecutive year. Tesla has a service facility in Milford, but consumers must purchase the cars in a neighboring state such as New York or Massachusetts. “I think the… Read more »

BMW’s X5 xDrive40e spearheads its plan to offer PHEVs in every market segment

BMW has taken a bold approach to electrification. It began test-marketing EVs in 2012 with the Active E and Mini E, and escalated to full-scale production in 2013 with the i3 EV and i8 plug-in super-sports car, which together passed the milestone of 50,000 worldwide sales in January. BMW deserves a lot of credit for… Read more »

A dealership perspective: How we can sell millions of EVs

Sales of EVs and PHEVs are growing at what seems like an impressive pace, but are still tiny in relation to the larger auto market. Total new vehicle sales reached an all-time high of over 17 million in 2015, but plug-in sales just cracked the one-percent mark in Europe, and are still well under one… Read more »

March plug-in sales take off as Tesla factory cranks into high gear

US plug-in sales have resumed their steep upward climb. March sales shattered last year’s figure, setting a new all-time record. Around 13,725 plug-ins were sold in March, a 33% increase over March 2015 and a few units more than the previous monthly record set in December. American car buyers now have around two dozen EV and… Read more »

Tesla kills the instrument cluster

Automobiles, and the automotive industry itself, have a lot of features that survive as vestiges of earlier technological times, and may no longer serve any real purpose. Tesla has eliminated a few of these (model years, free press trips) and tried hard to eliminate others (rear-view mirrors, independent dealerships). With the advent of the Model… Read more »

2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron delivers performance and practicality

The selection of plug-in vehicles available to US buyers continues to grow steadily – it now stands at 27 models, with several more expected this year. The latest entrant to the market is the 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, the German luxury brand’s first plug-in model available in the US. Every time a new plug-in… Read more »

February plug-in sales: Tesla and Chevy battle for the lead, Ford grabs third by a nose

US plug-in sales are on the rise again – February’s figure of 7,881 was the fourth consecutive monthly record, and an increase of 13% over last February’s 6,951. The Tesla Model S regained the lead that it briefly lost to the Volt in January – estimated sales were 1,550 units in the US (via InsideEVs). The… Read more »

Plug-in sales grow again in January as Chevy, Tesla and Nissan continue to lead

2015 was a disappointing year for plug-in purchases in the US (although sales soared in Europe). Annual sales fell short of the previous year, mostly thanks to a mid-year slump. However, growth returned in October, and January marks the fourth month in a row that US sales have bested the previous year’s monthly figure. 6,291… Read more »

FTC panel considers direct-to-consumer auto sales

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently assembled a panel of experts in auto manufacturing and marketing to consider the question of whether automakers should be allowed to sell cars directly to customers. For several years, Tesla has been waging a war with auto dealers’ associations over this issue – the company’s direct sales model is… Read more »