October 4, 2012
While the Toyota Prius Liftback continues to pace the hybrid vehicles, the Camry Hybrid continues to perform well at over 10 percent of Camry sales, with annual sales in the range of 40,000 to 45,000.
The Prius c and v held their own and were consistent with prior months, while the Liftback declined somewhat. Even with the slight decline in the Liftback, the three models are in line to sell 225,000 units or more for the year which would be the best result ever for the model line (no doubt aided by the addition of the c and the v).
For its first month of sales, the Ford C-Max Hybrid found itself as the ninth best seller among hybrids.
October 5, 2012
General Motors, through its OnStar division, is testing an app capable of telling Chevrolet Volt owners how much it costs to charge their battery – and compare the Volt’s energy use with the total energy consumed in their home by day, month or year.
The new app, called EcoHub, will initially be tested with and available to residents of the Pecan Street demonstration project, a smart grid living community in Austin.
“For the first time we’re able to put one of our Smart Grid solutions into the hands of actual consumers, thanks in part to our partnership with Pecan Street,” said Paul Pebbles, global manager, Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid Services. “Down the line, we hope this app can be a beneficial tool for all drivers of electric vehicles.”
October 5, 2012
Recent financial news about Tesla’s downgraded earnings, production, and federal loan repayment spurred concerned media reports, but company CEO Elon Musk is saying not to worry, the outlook is actually positive.
In an Oct. 3 blog post, instead of the more frequent posts by VP George Blankenship, Musk took to the word processor to explain Tesla expects to be cashflow positive by the end of November.
He also clarified company intentions now that Tesla’s financing round is complete, saying there’s reason to keep the faith, and his hands had been tied in explaining sooner, despite negative reports.
October 5, 2012
By now most advanced-tech car followers know the Chevy Volt set another record of 2,851 sales in September – a narrow 0.7-percent increase over the 2,831 sold in August – and the good news for Voltec fans beyond this is GM says it is definitely committed to its plug-in technology.
For all the critical media questions about the Volt’s relative success, the Volt for now remains heads above the plug-in car market but with others gunning for it even so.
Its 16,348 year-to-date sales surpass the March-launched, and not fully rolled out plug-in Toyota Prius PHV which may be catching up with 1,652 sales in September – a sizable 57-percent increase from August sales – and 7,734 sales year to date.
October 5, 2012
Longmont, Colorado-based UQM Technologies, Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding with a major Chinese company for the development and marketing of UQM electric propulsion systems for Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV).
This agreement expands the global reach of UQM to four continents, and represents the initial step in the company’s strategy to penetrate the Chinese market with their electric propulsion products.
