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So what new (or greatly improved) EVs for 2018?

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  SparkE 
#1 ·
Concerning 'the competition' ...

So which new vehicles hit the U.S. for 2018 (either arrived late 2017, or arriving early 2018)?

- Has the first LEAF2 (150 miles) actually arrived yet?

- Hyundai IONIQ :
(a) is the PHEV actually available in the U.S. yet? (It's been in the U.K. for a while.)
(b) is the BEV actually available outside of L.A. yet? (It's been in the U.K. for a long time.)
(c) Hyundai said (when the IONIQ EV was announced) that the BEV would 'soon' (?by 2018?) have a 200+ mile range. I haven't seen any news of that (yet) - anybody else heard something?

- eGolf : has the longer range vehicle really shown up in the U.S. yet? Wasn't it a 2017 model?

- Tesla model 3, obviously. (current major production problems, obviously) (and a real long wait time unless you reserved 18 months ago, also obviously)

Any other new(er/ish) EVs coming to us soon (or just delivered)?

Thanks for any news.
 
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#2 ·
2018 LEAF: No
Ioniq Electric, still CA only in the US (200 mile version - nope)
Ioniq PHEV - Wide availability (2K+ on lots)

2017 e-Golf (125 EPA with 35.8 kWh battery) in stock

Model 3, configuration invites increasing rapidly

Clarity Electric (CA & OR) doing better than I expected
Clarity PHEV picking up sales (~1600 show available)

updated smart fortwo ED is out - same battery, but less range (All smart cars in the US are now electric) Cabrio available

Outlander PHEV in stock (too little too late? But it is AWD with DCFC)

i-Pace is ~ 6 months out

Volvo T8 family has expanded from the XC90 to add the S90 and XC60 (400HP from twin turbo + supercharger + electric)

Niro PHEV just hitting dealers now
The new longer range Soul EV is available (30 kWh & 111 miles)

"s" variant of the i3 starting to show up (BEV and REx)
updated i8 should be here soon as well (including roadster version)
iPerformance line is doing well (330e, 540e, 540e xDrive, 740e xDrive)

Panamera S E-Hybrid (5 models) due this year, but might be battery supply constrained. 60% of EU sales are plug-in)

Mercedes is showing the 350e and GLC 350e joining the GLE 550e (B-Class Electric and S550e are gone off of their site)

The C-Max Energi is done (Fusion Energi still available)

One of the most interesting 2019 promises is the Bollinger B1. If they make it, it will sell. Kind of the equivalent of a 100% Electric Hummer - what's not to like?
The 2019 LEAF could be interesting - depends on many things (like thermal management).

All sorts of 2020+ vaporware floating around, but the Mission e is fairly certain for that time frame.
 
#3 ·
I drove along side a 2018 LEAF for about 5 minutes this last week, on my way to work. It had a Manufacturer/Dealer plate from Tennessee, but I'm in the Atlanta suburbs. Might have been a demo car being delivered to a local dealership, or maybe they were doing some on-road testing. It looked sharp in person, I expect it to sell well.
 
#4 ·
2018 will be all about the Model 3 and the Leaf. The rest of the field is either same, ol' same ol', or inconsequential, or just compliance cars, or stock pumping distractions. Bolt sales will tick up a bit and remain steady, but I predict that the Leaf and the Model 3 will sell in greater numbers. The Ioniq BEV has potential, but clearly Hyundai is just using it as a compliance car for credits.
 
#5 · (Edited)
DaV8or:
Concerning the Ioniq EV, it has been available *outside* of the U.S. for quite a while. Surprisingly, the U.S. was the market where they decided to scrimp on EV sales (both BEV and PHEV - the 'standard' hybrid has been generally available). I'm *guessing* that is because they only belatedly realized that the Bolt and LEAF2 (with 200+ miles) would be big hits in the U.S.; i.e., Hyundai miscalculated with the 124-mile-range BEV - my guess is that in the planning (well before 2017) they didn't think Chevy would (a) hit their date, and (b) actually produce 20,000 of them the first year (and Nissan was very quiet about the whens and whats of the new LEAF before 2016).

So they decided to sell the 2017 Ioniq EV in markets that wouldn't be getting many Bolts or LEAF2s. When the Ioniq EV was 'introduced' (well before it started shipping) back in 2016, a head honcho at Hyundai said flat out that it would soon ("by 2018") have a larger battery pack (to get around 200 miles, it was hinted). I would *guess* that later in 2018 there will be an "extended range" Ioniq EV and that there will be 2 battery sizes, just like the LEAF2 (except it will be ~130 miles and ~190 miles for the Ioniq).

DucRider:
Concerning the Ioniq PHEV: "Wide availability (2K+ on lots)". Are you sure that those aren't NON-plug-in hybrids on the lots? The US website still hasn't listed the PHEV as available in the U.S. yet ...
 
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#6 ·
DaV8or:
Concerning the Ioniq EV ...
The Ioniq is a mystery to me. There are a few hybrids, sitting at our local dealership with an asking price below $21K for a man from the street - squarely 15% below the cheapest Prius at the Toyota place a mile up the road. With extra-long warranty, best non-plug mpg, reasonably handsome exterior and, favorable reviews, and - it would appear - none in the streets.

As per insideevs, the electric version sells at an embarrassing rate of 40 boxes/month, despite being in the same category as the electric Soul and Golf. Geez, even the God's Error* Smart EV seems to sell better.

What's wrong with it?

*for non-religious people, evolutionary dead end?
 
#8 ·
Concerning 'the competition' ...
Interestingly...this:



The Honda Clarity PHEV. Is a Volt killer ... wait, the Volt is apparently already on it's way out. :(
Although the 1950's-style side skirts make it kinda homely, I guess the unwritten design law that mandates EV's must look like..."EV's" ...is still in effect over at Honda. Nonetheless, I think EV's (all vehicles really) should be "role-based". i.e, economically and socially functional for each individuals needs.

All things being equal, The Clarity EV fits [near] perfectly for my wife's driving habits; 52-mile R/T daily commute + 6 times a year 800-mile R/T jaunt to visit her parents. The Volt fills this role with it's 52-mile All-E range, but the Honda has a real mid-size cabin and real back seats that allow it to have 5 real-sized adults inside. Test drove it at the local Honda dealer...which was almost laughable as the dealer does not have ANY charging equipment at all, so there was no EV-only driving during the test. The Clarity isn't going to win any drag races and it seems to be a pure serial hybrid, but I can't tell. The interior is very, very nice and comes standard with some good safety gadgets:



The Clarity EV says it gets 47-miles in all-E before the engine kicks in. Thus for this household, about 5600 miles/year will be on petrol, and 31,000 miles/year on Solar produced electrons - With the addition of the Bolt to the garage - I estimate a total of 82% use of electric only driving.
 
#10 ·
"The Ioniq is a mystery to me."

Korean cars used to equal "cheap crap" (if you are old enough to remember the 80s as an adult). However, I know several people who have the 'std'-type Ioniq hybrid and love it.

... per insideevs, the {Ioniq EV} sells at an embarrassing rate of 40 boxes/month, despite being in the same category as the electric Soul and Golf.

The EV is only available in the L.A. area since its introduction (as far as I can tell) - they just aren't trying to sell it in the U.S. (and probably won't until the longer-range version is available later this year). If they sold a 140 mile AND a more expensive 220 mile version, they should be able to sell quite a few (they have the best MPGe of any BEV).


I should have mentioned the The Clarity PHEV in my first post - it's a car I am keeping an eye on. I want to see how well it does (not sales - reviews from actual owners) and if there are any technical problems. I am already considering it as my next ICE car (when my current ICE dies or I finally give up on it).
 
#11 ·
I saw a LEAF2 this past week at a DCFC - it had a Manufacturer/Dealer plate from Tennessee, surprisingly. I chatted with the driver, who admitted that he worked for Nissan (didn't say in what capacity) and I got the info that the LEAF2 "wouldn't be available for a few more weeks" (in Calif at least).

I can't wait for more of the 150+ -mile range BEVs to start arriving in 2018: LEAF2, Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona and hopefully a longer range Ioniq. Nissan, GM, and Tesla might soon hit the "EV tax credit" limit, but none of the other auto manufacturers are anywhere close.
 
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