Saturday, December 30, 2017

December 2017 EV News

2017 in the rearview
What a year! We began, here at Rosedale Chevrolet, in a hustle to show everybody how fantastic the All-New Chevy BoltEV was and to get one here to allow test drives. After a failed attempt to get a BoltEV from Chevrolet, we were able to purchase a retail BoltEV from a dealer in California. We were giddy with excitement when the BoltEV arrived in late February, just in time for our BoltEV Launch Event and the Twin Cities Auto Show.
With a guaranteed expedited allocation of up to 150 units, we began aggressively seeking orders in the sneaky way of providing high quality information, demonstrating the vast benefits of the vehicle and essentially just sharing gained knowledge acquired during the process. Many other dealers were boasting that we would not be able to fulfill our customer orders, but we were confident in Chevrolet getting us those vehicles. We were able to gather 61 orders prior to the day Chevrolet opened up our ability to place the orders. The first deliveries arrived in mid August. We were happy to send 96 BoltEV’s and 31 Volts on Minnesota Roads in 2017.
Thank you for helping us Lead the Charge!

EV Tax Credit
Great news for folks waiting until 2018 to buy their Chevrolet Electric Vehicle; The EV Tax Credit was not eliminated by the Tax Reform Bill. This $7,500 Tax Credit offers an incentive for folks buying a new Chevrolet Electric Vehicle directly on your tax return. The elimination of the credit was proposed in the House Bill, tabled on the Senate bill and ultimately not included in the signed and sealed final version. What’s next? The budget bill will be debated over the coming weeks and months and we may again see the EV Tax Credit on the chopping block.
Chevrolet is currently projected to reach its 200,000 unit limit for the credit near May of 2018. If this proves true, we will begin our phase out process for the credit in July 2018. This means that you can receive the full credit for two-quarters, or effectively, the entire 2018 year. The second phase out is to cut the credit in half for two-quarters, so the first half of 2019 will see a $3,750 max credit. The final phase is a quarter credit, or $1,875 for the second half of 2019. The credit would then end.
If you have questions or would like to discuss this further, give us a ring!

2018 Model Changes
Volt:
  • Improved audio speaker system on LT.
  • Available LT Driver Confidence Package with Blind Zone Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Park Assist. (Requires Leather Package and Comfort Package)
  • Delete Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel on LT. (Available with Comfort Package)
  • Delete Colors: Siren Red Tintcoat, Citron Green Metallic, Heather Gray Metallic and Pepperdust Metallic
  • Add Colors: Cajun Red Tintcoat, Green Mist Metallic and Satin Steel Metallic
BoltEV:
  • Heated Steering Wheel becomes part of the Automatic Climate Control System.
  • Delete Map Pocket behind front passenger seat.
  • Pricing is the same.
Upcoming Changes and Predictions:
It has been widely speculated that 2019 will be the year of updates for Chevrolet and the launch of other GM Electric Vehicles. We already know that GM will release 23 EVs by 2023, but what does that mean for Chevrolet? I will share what I know, what I anticipate and what I hope here.
I know that Buick will release a BoltEV based BEV in a small crossover vehicle. I anticipate an all-wheel drive option and more of the desirable features such as power seats, plush leather, KeyPass and perhaps Adaptive Cruise Control. I hope that this vehicle has more Autonomous Safety Features including Active Crash Avoidance hardware and vehicle to vehicle communications.
I anticipate a GMC small or midsize crossover vehicle to emerge in 2019. This vehicle may utilize PHEV tech from Volt or may see an improvement in size, capacity or charging. I hope that this is a more utilitarian version of the Buick with the ability to tow your family boat or small camper.
I hope that we see improvement to the BoltEV including a faster home charging options, faster DC Fast Charging capability (150KW) and new features. I hope that Adaptive Cruise Control and additional Autonomous Safety Features become available or standard. I anticipate DC Fast Charging becoming a standard feature.
I hope to see a revised and improved Volt with a 30kwh battery and 100+ mile electric range and the ability to control the range extending engine. I hope that it get a little taller, but I doubt this.
What changes would you like to see for future model years of Chevy BoltEV and Volt? CLICK HERE to join in on the conversation.

Charging Infrastructure Updates
Minnesota and most of the Midwest’s public charging infrastructure for Chevrolet plug-in vehicles are expanding rapidly! WIth EV Corridors spanning I94 from Detroit to Fargo, I90 from Detroit to Sioux Falls and I35 from Duluth to Texas, we are finally seeing interstate travel as an option for electric vehicle drivers. ZEF Energy (clickable) is a local company taking charge of many local DC Fast Chargers across the upper midwest. Matthew Blackler, President of ZEF Energy had this to say in a recent post to the MN Plug-in Electric Vehicle Owners Circle group on Facebook (clickable):
Would you like to see DCFC's in every corner of the state? Would you like to see multiple DCFC's in every location, to provide a resilient network?
With the discretionary 15% funds available from the VW State money, up to $7Million would be available for this build out. ZEF Energy has enough sites committed that we could cover the whole state by the end of 2018, if the MPCA greenlights the project.
BUT: the MPCA needs to hear from YOU! I urge all of you to contact the MPCA, highlighting why it is so important to have these discretionary funds made available for EV Infrastructure. It would allow ALL residents of MN to take advantage of EVs, and for drivers to get into every corner of the state.
Email: vwsettlement.pca@state.mn.us (Clickable)
They want to hear from people like you!

Events
Rosedale Chevrolet EV representatives David Troy, Roger Ratajczak, Jon Shelton and Shane Sutton can be found at various public and private events across the midwest. 2017 was a fun year for events including the Twin Cities Auto Show, MN State Fair Eco Experience, Dairyland Power Membership meeting, MN Plug-in Electric Vehicle Owners meetings, Safety Fair, Fleet Services, many ride n drives including 3M, Medtronic, Boston Sci and others plus educational events at various high schools, colleges and other institutions. We even offered up the use of a BoltEV for a silent auction with Minnesota Renewable Energy Society!
We recently held our first Rosedale Chevrolet EV Owners Event at the dealership. We had over 50 folks, including our EV Technician, EV Sales Team and others, join us for fantastic food and beverages and we had an informative conversation and question and answer session. We will continue hosting these types of events.
We anticipate participating in more events in 2018 with commitments for the Twin Cities Auto Show in the Electric Room, MN State Fair and others as we can find them. We are also working to put together an EV focused car show for the spring where we will invite other brands and private owners of traditional and homemade EVs. I hope to have a band here as well as other entertainment and various vendors. If you have contact with vendors or a band or group that might be interested in playing for us, please let us know.
Do you know of an event that we should bring the Chevy EVs to? Are you part of a forum where our experts could be beneficial to your group? Do you teach a class that could gain knowledge with our help? Do you have a charity cruise or other event that we can assist with?

Pre-Owned EV Market Update
We have seen a huge uptick in demand for all brands of Electric Vehicles including Chevrolet products. In an already competitive used vehicle market, we saw an influx of out-of-town dealers at auctions and other buying opportunities. These dealers were often from disaster areas of the country such as Texas, Florida and now we are seeing California dealers as well. Over 200,000 vehicles were destroyed in Austin Texas alone! This, in part, is causing increased values for vehicles especially electric vehicles.
Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius have all experienced up to 27% value increases over the last 7 months. Think about this: I sold a 2013 Leaf in August for $6,900 retail that is now worth more than that as a trade value. Volts have been the same way. One difficulty with these valuations is regarding loans for these vehicles. The “Book out” which is a valuation tool used by lenders to determine debt to value, are skewed with the old values. Therefore, some folks with tight budgets or not so great credit may experience difficulty getting their used EV auto loans approved.
I BUY ALL EV’s from ALL BRANDS whether or not you buy from me!

New Chevy EV Inventory
New Chevrolet Electric Vehicle inventory is low across the country right now. As we await the arrival of our first 2018 BoltEVs, we are seeing a delay in acquiring Volts as well. We currently have 10 BoltEVs coming in around the middle of January with another 12 possibly arriving in late January. We sold out on our first arrivals of Volt and have another couple dozen in the pipeline.
The great news is that we have built a unique reputation around the midwest of being a high volume EV dealership which has helped us to find additional units to bring in. In fact, when other dealers are in need of a different model such as Silverado, they start with us if they have an EV to trade. We look to buy EVs from other dealers across the country as well.
We have had 94% success rate for acquiring BoltEVs that folks desire.
If you would like to put your name on an incoming unit or if you would like us to go to work to get you the EV you desire, give our EV Team a call today!
Pre-Owned EV Inventory

2008 TOYOTA PRIUS 5DR HB BASE $5,950

FUEL EFFICIENT 45 MPG Hwy/48 MPG City!, 124k Miles, PRICED TO MOVE $1,200 below Kelley Blue Book! Base trim. CD Player, Keyless Start, Aluminum Wheels, Hybrid. 4 Star Driver Front Crash Rating

2014 CHEVROLET VOLT 5DR HB $14,985

Volt trim. GREAT MILES 50,128! FUEL EFFICIENT 40 MPG Hwy/35 MPG City! Navigation, AUDIO SYSTEM WITH NAVIGATION, CHEVROLET MYLINK RADIO WITH NAVIGATION, AM/FM STEREO WITH CD PLAYER AND MP3 PLAYBACK CAPABILITY, Satellite Radio
EXTERIOR BROWNSTONE METALLIC ~ INTERIOR PEBBLE BEIGE/DARK ACCENTS

2013 CHEVROLET VOLT 5DR HB $14,985

Volt trim. EPA 40 MPG Hwy/35 MPG City! LOW MILES - 37,615! Satellite Radio, Onboard Communications System, Remote Engine Start, ENGINE, RANGE EXTENDER, 1.4L INTERNAL... AUDIO SYSTEM, CHEVROLET MYLINK RADIO... Aluminum Wheels
EXTERIOR BLUE TOPAZ METALLIC ~ INTERIOR JET BLACK SEATS/CERAMIC WHITE ACCENTS

We also just bought four more Gen1 Volts. Gen2 Volts and other brand EVs are tough to find right now. I am looking to buy! If you or anybody that you know is looking to sell an EV, please ask them to contact us!

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Location: 2845 I-35W, Roseville, MN 55113, USA

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