Car Sales

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3

    Earlier this week we reported the Model 3 is possibly the fifth best-selling car in the U.S., based on Tesla’s update on deliveries. These Model 3 numbers released Tuesday are likely an anomaly; they’re based on a coordinated surge in U.S. deliveries in September. But also to be fair, we missed one other distinction: The Tesla Model 3 was, pending confirmation from a wide range of sources—also in September—the best-selling passenger car from a U.S. automaker. CHECK OUT: Will Tesla Model 3 be most "made in America" car, beating Toyota Camry? The website...

  • 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
    2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid price drops by $1,350

    The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid may cost car shoppers less, the company announced last week. The price drop on base models will save buyers $1,350 on 2018 models, which should help the car attract more customers. It comes in the same two trim levels as before. Base models will start at...

  • Canadian reader K's new Tesla Model 3
    Tesla dominated electric-car sales in Canada in June

    Electric cars accounted for nearly 3 percent of all passenger vehicles sold in Canada in June, thanks to a surge of Tesla Model 3 deliveries. With the California-based automaker famously coy about country-by-country deliveries, June delivery data won’t be finalized until later this month...

  • 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid
    Plug-in electric car sales for April: Leaf sales lag, spendy Porsches take off

    The landscape for plug-in electric and hybrid cars appears to be little changed.

  • WaiveCar Hyundai Ioniq Electric
    2018 Hyundai Ioniq Electric "Unlimited" subscription more limited this year

    While global demand for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric appears to be strong, supplies have remained limited. The battery-electric compact hatchback, rated at 124 miles of range by the EPA, forgoes the "weird styling" of contenders like the previous Nissan Leaf. In the U.S., however, the all-electric...

  • 2018 Lexus RX L, 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantially

    Gas is cheap in the U.S. and has been for years. Hybrids are no longer a cutting-edge or cool technology; they're just another powertrain. The result is that hybrids have been quietly ebbing as a proportion of total vehicle sales. DON'T MISS: 2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid three-row SUV priced from...

  • Rendering of Renault Electric Vehicle Experience Center, opened in Taby Centrum, Stockholm, Feb 2018

    How to sell electric cars in these early years poses a quandry for all automakers. Tesla chose to avoid existing franchised dealerships and set up its own "stores," where shoppers can learn about plug-in electric vehicles, and their advantages, and have questions answered by Tesla representatives. Buyers then order online. Other makers have had less success with dropping an electric car or two into dealerships accustomed to gasoline vehicles. DON'T MISS: Car dealers are woefully unprepared for electric vehicles: study Today, Renault will open its first electric-car-only showroom to display...

  • Doug Kerr, daughter Andie Kerr, fiancee Barbara Gleason; Fiat 500e, Ford Focus Electric, Fiat 500e
    How to buy or lease an electric car: advice from owner who's done it four times

    Most shoppers seem to view visiting a franchised auto dealer to negotiate the purchase or lease of a new car with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. In fact, as electric-car driver Douglas Kerr notes, the process is often compared to having a cavity filled. Kerr has now leased or bought four separate...

  • Honda Clarity Fuel Cell on lift at dealership
    Dealers start to worry about ebbing repair income from electric cars

    The average vehicle on U.S. roads these days is more than 10 years old, despite three successive years of record new-vehicle sales. That's a result not only of the 2008-2010 recession but also vastly more durable and reliable vehicles compared to those of previous decades. All of those vehicles...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf
    Looking at leases on 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: how do they stack up?

    This past Tuesday, the 2018 Nissan Leaf—an entirely redesigned second generation of the pioneering electric car—officially went on sale in the U.S. It's quicker and has more features than its predecessors, not to mention a significantly longer range: 151 miles combined, according to the...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car, test-driven by Shiva of Fremont, California, Oct 2017
    Why everyone leases electric cars rather than buying (and maybe you should too)

    Leases are a minority of overall car sales in the U.S., though the numbers soar for pricier luxury vehicles versus the less expensive, plain-Jane vehicles that serve as daily transport for most drivers. That rule flips for electric cars: Most pricey Teslas appear to be purchased outright, while...

  • Jaguar I-Pace Concept, 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show
    First Euro prices for Jaguar I-Pace electric car released; US $70K to $80K?

    While prices for the Jaguar I-Pace electric car that launches next year haven't been announced for the U.S., figures appearing across the pond provide a good starting point for some guesstimation. According to Dutch website Autoblog.nl, the I-Pace electric SUV will get a starting price of 82,000...

  • Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]

    Since Tesla began selling electric cars directly to customers throughout the U.S., the electric-vehicle maker has had to play franchise-law whack-a-mole in multiple state courts. On Tuesday, Tesla scored a decisive victory when the Missouri Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's ruling that would have left Tesla without a state dealer license. In the court's ruling, the judge criticized the tactics of the Missouri Auto Dealers Association, Tesla's opponent. DON'T MISS: Tesla can still sell cars in Missouri stores, pending appeal, after dealer lobby lauds victory According to the St. Louis...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf in front of Longfellow Bridge, Boston [photo: John Briggs]
    Car dealers are woefully unprepared for electric vehicles: study

    Yet another study has revealed that many dealerships across the United States still don't prioritize electric cars and haven't prepared for their growth. The latest report showed dealerships still practice the same unhealthy habits uncovered in earlier studies, including a lack of electric-car...

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
    2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid starts at $34,290 with 47-mile range

    The 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid will start at a recommended price of $34,290 including delivery, making it the least expensive plug-in hybrid sedan on the market this year. Honda says it will go on sale December 1, and it will be offered at all Honda dealers in the U.S. That means that for...

  • 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Feb 2016
    New entry-level 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE model starts at $28,100

    Toyota's popular RAV4 crossover utility vehicle will gain a new entry-level hybrid trim for the 2018 model year, offering a remarkably good price against a gasoline-only RAV4 crossover. The 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE trim lets buyers choose the greater fuel efficiency of a hybrid powertrain for...

  • Winners of Canada's 2017 Electric Vehicle Awards
    Canada electric-car news: EV Awards, surging Solo sales, electric-bus boom

    Coming in mid-October, Canadian Thanksgiving roughly coincides with the return of ice hockey. This year, the country’s plug-in electric vehicle fans have their own reasons for giving thanks—and not just because the National Hockey League followed Tesla’s lead and expanded into...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla has now sold 250,000 electric cars, more than GM (but fewer than Nissan)

    Electric-car maker Tesla posted its best quarterly sales results in company history after it closed out the third quarter with 26,150 units sold. Despite the figure's cause for celebration, the figure may be interpreted as a downside by some since the third quarter's sales in 2017 just inched past...

  • 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf

    Model years can be confusing: the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car just went on sale this month, at a time when some other makers have already rolled out 2018 models. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, meanwhile, went on sale since last December; at some point this fall, we expect to get information on the 2018 version. Comparing the two 2017 compact electric hatchbacks shows significant differences in range and lease cost. DON'T MISS: 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf, 125-mile electric car, starts at $31,315 Surprisingly, the top version of the electric car with the lower EPA-rated range (the 2017 VW...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
    Toyota Prius owners: Hyundai will give you $1,000 to buy an Ioniq Hybrid

    The Toyota Prius is undoubtedly the world's best-known hybrid car, and it's now been in production over four generations for more than 20 years. There have been more than 6 million Priuses built so far, and the U.S. represents the car's largest single market. That means lots of current Prius...

  • 2016 Tesla Model S
    Latest Tesla referral programs draw new CA dealer lobby complaint

    Tesla has once again ruffled the feathers of the California New Car Dealers Association with a new round of referral programs. The Silicon Valley automaker has used referral programs for years; they usually provide perks for current owners who get friends, coworkers, and colleagues to buy a new...

  • 2016 BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV, made in China
    China's electric-car sales now twice those in US for Jan-June 2017

    Hard numbers provide the latest evidence that shows China is by far the world's largest market for plug-in cars—or new energy vehicles, as they are referred to locally. The latest round of sales figures show the Chinese bought almost exactly twice the number of plug-in vehicles as car buyers...

  • Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]
    Tesla wins Michigan court fight to get e-mails by lobbyist, lawmaker

    As a Tesla lawsuit over the state of Michigan's dealership franchise law grinds on, the Silicon Valley automaker scored a recent legal victory. A federal magistrate has ordered two Michigan lawmakers to turn over their communications to the company's lawyers, including emails they sent to lobbyist...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla Model 3 won't be delivered in Michigan to buyers; lawsuit grinds on

    An ongoing lawsuit continues to complicate life for potential buyers of the Tesla Model 3, and the automaker's other electric cars, who live in Michigan. Tesla and the state remain locked in a legal battle over the state's franchise law, which requires automakers to sell vehicles only via an...

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