Tuesday, August 1, 2017

August 2017 EV News

Hello fellow EV'er,

It is finally August and Minnesota will have it's first BoltEV sold by a MN dealer this month! In fact, I am optimistic that we may actually see up to 30 BoltEV's deleivered by our team this month, which is fantastic! We should send well over 50 BoltEV onto MN roads in the next 45 days!

This month we are proud to have events to display and ride'n'drive Chevy EV's across the metro. We had a ride n drive event at 3M for employees of this great company which already offers employee charging at multiple locations. We will also display the BoltEV at the Minnesota State Fair! Look for it at the Eco Experience and be sure to stop by for great conversation!


Sales data reflecting July sales were fantastic with BoltEV delivering ~2,000 units, a new milestone for BoltEV! Volt sales declined a bit, likely due to the attention being given to the BoltEV, but we still saw nice numbers. The closest competitors also saw declines including Tesla Model X and S. The Prius Prime inched up just slightly in July


Rumer Mills across the globe have been targeting General Motors, Chevrolet, The BoltEV and Volt this past month. Let's clear the air on a few of the bigger headlines.
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First, lets tackle the "BoltEV Production Halted due to inventory surplus" story that I first saw in Reuters. This story was an embellishment at its finest.
Production of the BoltEV was not "halted". The BoltEV is manufactured at the Orion Plant in Michigan. This plant has a regularly scheduled Summer Break period where employees are given time off and the plant is retooled for upcoming model year productions. This break period was extended to allow a change in production to build fewer Chevy Sonics (due to sales declines) and an increase in BoltEV production by 50%. There is not a surplus of BoltEV's across the country. California dealers have ample supply of BoltEVs, but the rest of the world is in short supply. Due to cafe' laws, most manufacturers drop as many PEV's into California as possible to maximize credit aquisition. BoltEV production was actually incresed. Production for the BoltEV is split with Chevy Sonic in the production line. Essentially, the BoltEV saw a 50% increase in production. Here is a Fact that I can confirm: Our pre-ordered BoltEVs have now had production moved up a week, TWICE! We are now moving up delivery dates for those lucky clients!

Another rumer that is going around is that Chevy Volt is being discontinued as of 2022. This is also not a fact, yet. This story came from the fact that UAW (United Auto Workers) Union had a meeting with GM to discuss declining small to large sized car sales. Many models across multiple brands, both domestic and imported, have seen a decrease in car sales in lieu of SUV's, Crossovers and Trucks. In this meeting, UAW was working to ensure job security for its' workers by suggesting that Chevrolet/GM move production of more popular models into the spaces of the lower performing vehicles. One idea would be to create a crossover or suv version of the Voltec drivetrain, currently offered in the Volt. This may not be a bad idea and if Volt sales continue to slow, this would be a good idea. GM/Chevrolet has not announced any such moves or intents at this point. I am all for putting the Voltec Drivetrain into additional models.

Lastly, I read a report out of Wall Street that made indications that Dealers do not want to sell the BoltEV and Volt for multiple reasons including a lack of support from Chevrolet. I do not know about every dealer across the country, but I have spoken to a few of my colleagues at other shops and asked them about this. The most common concern that I heard was not a lack of support from Chevrolet or GM, but rather a lack of support from auto buyers. They are not getting many inquiries via internet or phone and when they do, the sales folks feel so uneducated that they don't feel comfortable. I spoke to a Genereal Manager at another dealership who told me, "I just can't get any of my salespeople to spend the time and energy to learn the lingo of these cars without having ample supply of qualified buyers." Another salesperson, who sells a fair amount of Volts said that his dealership was resistant to spend the $24k it costs to obtain the proper tools and training for their service department, so he can't sell the BoltEV. I can say, from personal experience, that GM and Chevrolet leadership in both our zone and in Detroit does infact, fully support these vehicles. I have had many conversations with Chevy Execs who have been nothing but supportive. The fact is, Chevy EV Leadership is why we have the ability to bring in as many BoltEV's as we are in an expedited manner. In short; GM and Chevy Executives are supportive of EV sales. Individual dealerships are showing resistance to the new vehicles strictly based on a service and cost versus income perspective. Just a side note, I could have ordered up to 150 expedited orders, but we were only able to gather just over 50 orders. This just shows that we need the public to get into EV's and it is my belief that once interest picks up a bit more, we will see more and more dealerships coming online with EV's.

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Here's a snapshot of our PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) and PEV (Plug-in Electric Vehicle) inventory:
CERTIFIED 2016 SUMMIT WHITE CHEVROLET VOLT LT W/ 29K MILES + HEATED LEATHER $26,985
CERTIFIED 2016 KINETIC BLUE CHEVROLET VOLT PREMIER W/ 12K MILES $27,985
NEW 2017 PEPPERDUST CHEVROLET VOLT LT $36,075 MSRP
NEW 2017 MOSAIC BLACK CHEVROLET VOLT PREMIER $39,930 MSRP
NEW 2017 PEPPERDUST CHEVROLET VOLT PREMIER W/COMFORT PACKAGE $42,270 MSRP
NEW 2017 HEATHER GRAY CHEVROLET VOLT PREMIER W/COMFORT PACKAGE $42,270 MSRP
NEW 2017 CAJUN RED CHEVROLET BOLTEV LT W/COMFORT + CONFIDENCE + DCFC $40,040 MSRP
NEW 2017 KINETIC BLUE CHEVROLET BOLTEV PREMIER W/ INFOTAINMENT AND CONFIDENCE PKGS $44,015 MSRP
*BoltEV's are expected to arrive late August or early September*


Here are the PHEV and PEV Chevrolet Factory Incentives for August: (Military members, educators and college students and recent grads save more!)
Volt: 
Purchases: $3000 Private Offer (Must receive mail or email) ~OR~ Up to $1500 for Lease Loyalty (GM lessee, no need to return other vehicle), $500 for Competitive Leases (non-GM lessees, no need to return other vehicle), $1000 Lease Private Offer (Must receive mail or email)
Leases: $4,400 Lease Cash + $500 for Lease Loyalty (GM lessee, no need to return other vehicle), $500 for Competitive Leases (non-GM lessees, no need to return other vehicle), $1000 Lease Private Offer (Must receive mail or email)
Example Volt 10k mile/yr Lease: LT with Comfort Package with $3k down and any-brand lease in your household = $299/month.
BoltEV:
Purchases: $3000 Private Offer (Must receive mail or email) ~OR~ Up to $1500 for Lease Loyalty (GM lessee, no need to return other vehicle), $500 for Competitive Leases (non-GM lessees, no need to return other vehicle), $1000 Lease Private Offer (Must receive mail or email)
Leases: $1,250 Lease Cash + $500 for Lease Loyalty (GM lessee, no need to return other vehicle), $500 for Competitive Leases (non-GM lessees, no need to return other vehicle), $1000 Lease Private Offer (Must receive mail or email)

The Federal Tax Credit of up to $7,500 is still active for Chevrolet. This credit is offered for the first 200,000 PEV or PHEV vehicles sold. After the 200k are delivered, the "phase out" process begins the following yearly quarter. During the phase out, the first six months deliveries will enjoy the full $7,500 credit, the following six months will see the credit cut in half and the final six months will see 25% of the tax credit. Here is where things sit for deliveries:

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CleanTechnica posted a story highlighting an 86% increase in Pure EV sales in 2017. READ IT HERE
Chevy BoltEV sets Consumer Reports' Electric Vehicle Range record! READ MORE HERE

Uber and Lyft drivers love the BoltEV! READ MORE HERE

All-Electric Buick Crossover with BoltEV Drivetrain might be in the works! READ MORE HERE

Thank you for taking the time to read the August Newsletter,
Your Rosedale EV Team
Dave & Roger
651-636-0340
www.RosedaleChev.com/BoltEV
www.Facebook.com/RosedaleChev
www.Facebook.com/DaveYourCarGuy