I-MiEV Sales

[ElectricAvenue]

Below is an excerpt from an article at Green Car Reports

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082638_feb-plug-in-electric-car-sales-leaf-supply-low-volt-recovers

But the Mitsubishi i-MiEV has now conclusively boosted itself out of last year's sales levels, which looked more like those of a compliance car than the volume battery electric competitor its maker hopes it will be.

In February, Mitsubishi sold 337 i-MiEVs, following an equally stunning 257 units last month. That means more i-MiEVs were sold in two months this year (594) than in all of last year (588).)

 

[jennrod12]

Nice to hear!

Jenn

 

[micmel2]

I was one of the lucky ones that took advantage of the sweet leasing deals. I picked my i last Wednesday. I don't know how much longer Mitsubishi can sustain the sales of the i with this fantastic deal.

 

[PV1]

I picked mine up on Feb. 21. I just bought mine outright because I don't thoroughly get the gist of leasing, and therefore don't trust it. I just happened across the $6,000 dealer cash and thought it was too good to pass up. With my down payment, my payments are less than $300 a month, and I've already saved $50 in gas in my first week.

Glad to hear sales are way up. Are there any commercials on TV yet for this car? My sister was telling me she saw one, but the only one I can find is for the Normal, IL deloyment, on YouTube.

Welcome to the forum, Micmel2, and congratulations on your acquisition.

 

[JoeS]

Welcome to all the new owners! I'd like to think that the car's sales are increasing due to us owners' enthusiasiasm and spreading the word about how well our zero-emissions and efficient iMiEV meets most peoples' needs rather than its better pricing or the rising cost of gasoline...

 

[PV1]

I agree with you. I know in showing the car, that comfort and interior space are among the first comments about the car, followed by range and a few other miscellaneous items. Cost is often among the last topics to come up. However, the question that comes up first almost all the time is, "What is it?" Once you tell them, "It's a Mitsubishi i. It's all electric, there's no gas in this car.", that opens up an instant 5 minute conversation, at least. People are interested in this car, but I think the lack of advertisement really shows because almost all of the people I talk to have never heard of the i before, or even knew Mitsubishi had an electric car.

I think the sudden spike in sales is partly due to others following my train of thought. I waited until after the new year, mainly to see how the elections would turn out, but also to wait out most of the winter and see about 2013 models. Maybe people wanted to snag up a MiEV before they would be wiped off the map by the new LEAF. Owner's enthusiasm certainly played a huge part, no doubt.

 

[benswing]

I have to agree with the sentiment that iMIEV sales are stronger due to better financing options, unfortunately. Got mine only because they were giving them away with leases below $99/mo.

Until the range gets closer to 80 or 100 miles/charge the MIEV will be a second tier electric vehicle for most people. I really enjoy driving mine, but have arrived at home with single digits on the RR display 2 out of 3 times so far. It seems to have JUST enough range to be practical, but not enough to be comfortable for my needs. (NOTE: these trips are between 17-20 miles each way and have taken place with temperatures below 45 degrees mostly on highway.)

 

[Don]

Until the range gets closer to 80 or 100 miles/charge the MIEV will be a second tier electric vehicle for most people. I really enjoy driving mine, but have arrived at home with single digits on the RR display 2 out of 3 times so far. It seems to have JUST enough range to be practical, but not enough to be comfortable for my needs. (NOTE: these trips are between 17-20 miles each way and have taken place with temperatures below 45 degrees mostly on highway.)

I think whether it's 'second tier' or not is largely determined by where you live, where you need to go and whether or not you can recharge away from home. We have found alternative routes that keep us off the freeways 90% of the time and we do regularly get 75 or 80 miles per charge - It's not hard to do if you keep your speed down

We thought it would be good for 75% or so of all the trips we need to make when we bought ours last May, but it hasn't turned out that way. We have 2 other gas burners and as it works out, they need to be on trickle chargers because it's not unusual for both of them to sit for 5 or 6 weeks between uses . . . . and lately we've been 'inventing' a need to drive them just so they still get SOME use. Now with 7800 miles on the iMiEV, the other 2 probably have less than 250 miles each since we bought this car

We're retired, so we don't work (so no recharging there) and we have no public chargers of any kind in our area, so 100% of all our charging so far is done in our garage. Still, we use the car every single day and we recharge every 2nd or 3rd night - Definitely not 'second tier' for us :mrgreen:

Don

 

[benswing]

We have 2 other gas burners and as it works out, they need to be on trickle chargers because it's not unusual for both of them to sit for 5 or 6 weeks between uses...

I love reading lines like this!

 

[Vike]

In February, Mitsubishi sold 337 i-MiEVs, following an equally stunning 257 units last month. That means more i-MiEVs were sold in two months this year (594) than in all of last year (588).)

Wait a minute - it's been reported elsewhere in this forum that Mitsu sold nearly 800 i-MiEVs in the U.S. last year. Where did this 588 number come from?

 

[Vike]

Maybe people wanted to snag up a MiEV before they would be wiped off the map by the new LEAF.

I'm afraid I'd have to agree that's a likely scenario. I was very much on the fence during the six months it took Mitsu to deliver my i-MiEV. In the end, I'm glad Nissan never brought quite good enough a deal to Albuquerque during that time, because I would have been hard pressed to pay anywhere near as much for the i as for a Leaf. What made me nervous was that I did not have great confidence in Nissan's thermal management plan for their battery, and I think events in Arizona prove that my concerns were well-founded. I do hope there'll be a major re-think of all that for Nissan's next generation effort (the 2013 being a minor update), as well as addition of a fuel-fired heater (without which I don't think EVs make much sense for most drivers in northern climes).

I really just like the i-MiEV much better, and find it more fun to sling around town than the plusher and bulkier Leaf; the Leaf is certainly the superior highway cruiser, but for heaven's sake, that's exactly what I don't want to be doing with my EV, isn't it? Fortunately for me, the big price difference at the time made the decision an easy one, but once the 2013 Leafs are readily available, that will all be over. It may be happening already - I haven't checked, but I'd imagine any Leaf SVs or SLs still on dealer lots would have to be discounted to 2013 prices, or even below given the arrival of the new S model. As for the Leaf S, it's clearly calculated to kill the i-MiEV, dropping SV features (LED headlights, hybrid heater) that some Leaf buyers would find critical (and so be driven to the higher-margin SV), but which the i-MiEV has never offered at any price. Once the Leaf S is sitting on dealer lots, the i-MiEV will cease to be competitive for all but the handful of buyers drawn to its idiosyncratic virtues and less concerned with its more obvious shortcomings.

I guess I'm saying that some temporary good sales news does not encourage me regarding the i-MiEV's prospects for survival in the U.S. The only thing that could do that would be news of a significant price drop to retake the low ground from the Leaf S. Since Mitsu raised the price in Canada, I fear that's just not in the cards. Mitsubishi isn't a charity, after all, and if they can't get their Japan-based costs down and don't consider selling i-MiEVs at a loss to be in their intermediate-term interest, such a price drop just wouldn't make sense. I hope that's not the way this goes - I'd be a lot happier if they could sell thousands of these and build up a decent market for parts and support. I'll just have to wait, bated breath, crossed fingers, and all.

 

[gatedad11]

I leased, and strictly because of the low lease deals that came about early this year. The reduced prices of the Leaf(leftover 2012's as well as the incoming lower priced 2013 "S" models)spurred Mitsubishi to act. Mitsubishi's I was hardly the only pure EV that needed a drastic price change in order to get the cars moving off the showroom floor...all EV's, save the Tesla, have had to deal with similar issues in regards to range and price. For most people, who cannot afford upwards of $100,000 for a top of the line model, a car that only gets 65-75 miles is a tough sell at $32,000. However, when that same car drops to the very affordable level, it opens the market up to people who are curious, or who want to enjoy the benefits of an EV. In my case, again, that's how I was able to lease the I. Frankly, if I had the financial means to purchase outright, now would be the time to do it. In PA, the state government has a $3,000 cash rebate program and along with the $7500 Federal Tax rebate, that effectively lowers the purchase price by almost $11,000. And, with the market as soft as it has been for EV's, a car that lists for $32,500 should be able to be purchased for at least $5,000 under that. A $32,500 car becomes in effect an $18,000 car or around that. Even with the shortcomings of the car(and as happy as I am with the I, it has shortcomiongs) it's well worth $18,000. If they can get the range up to abut 100, and put a decent non-battery dependent heater inside the car, it would fly off the showroom floor. As it is right now, in the NE part of the country, the cold weather does compromise the car's range enough to make it a challenge for some owners to drive it consistently at the range it has. I have been seeing 70-75 miles on the Range Meter, but that number drops significantly once the heater is turned on. Out in warner areas, such as San Diego or L.A. you could prbably get away with the 70 mile range a lot easier.

 

[Vike]

I leased, and strictly because of the low lease deals that came about early this year. The reduced prices of the Leaf(leftover 2012's as well as the incoming lower priced 2013 "S" models)spurred Mitsubishi to act.

I'm glad you got a good deal, and I might have been motivated with low enough monthly and down payments, but when I bought it was still a bit high for a "never buy" deal, which was what the crazy high residual price guaranteed. My concern with "rent only" would still hold, alas - I'm half afraid we may be in the middle of an EV bubble, so might be confronted at the end of the lease with a choice between really overpaying to buy out the car, or limited or unattractive options among new EVs. Theoretically, the tech should be getting better every year, but that doesn't guarantee we'll have better and/or more affordable EV options three years from now.

With those questions hanging over current lease options (at least for folks really interested in having an EV to keep), I wish Mitsu would just face up to the current reality and lower the purchase price rather than deferring the pain by rigging lease deals with phony residuals.

 

[micmel2]

Vike, you asked where did the 588 number come from...it is from this article.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082638_feb-plug-in-electric-car-sales-leaf-supply-low-volt-recovers

 

[gatedad11]

Yeah, the residual is a joke. No one in their right mind would pay $23,500 for a car that is 2 years old, with 24,000 miles. That's not much less than the actual selling cost of the car(if one were to have simply purchaesd instead of leased). However, (and I have never leased, hence I have never purchased at end of elase) if the cars truly depreciate as they almost certainly will, then there shoudl be some interesting deals out there in a few years. I have heard that in the past some lenders/leasing companies recognize their weak bargaining position at the end of a lease and then reduce the purchsase price to a realistic figure. Others, though, from what I have heard, stay with the residual in the contract and then simply turn the cars over to wholesalers and they take their losses and move on. Frankly, I really like the car and would consider buying it after 2 years if the price were to match the actual cash/retail value. But with the slower charger, and no QC on the model I have, it is a lot less attractive than it could be....

Lou

 

[jray3]

Yep, I'd have to agree with Jay at insideevs.com that this is a selloff, not a resurgence..
http://insideevs.com/march-2013-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/
my local dealer said that he's not bringing any more "i-cars", but it's looking more and more like that won't even be an option.
Am just glad that my wife doesn't read this stuff. She'da been happy to wait a year and get a bargain on an i or take a Leaf.
Me and my i, well we just rolled 19k miles today and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[camiev]

You will never know. The i is very iconic. It might become a collectible car just like the VW Bug.
Mitsu might discontinue in the US. I think we can always get parts from EU.

Yep, I'd have to agree with Jay at insideevs.com that this is a selloff, not a resurgence..
http://insideevs.com/march-2013-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/
my local dealer said that he's not bringing any more "i-cars", but it's looking more and more like that won't even be an option.
Am just glad that my wife doesn't read this stuff. She'da been happy to wait a year and get a bargain on an i or take a Leaf.


Me and my i, well we just rolled 19k miles today and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[Vike]

Yep, I'd have to agree with Jay at insideevs.com that this is a selloff, not a resurgence..
http://insideevs.com/march-2013-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/
my local dealer said that he's not bringing any more "i-cars", but it's looking more and more like that won't even be an option.
Am just glad that my wife doesn't read this stuff. She'da been happy to wait a year and get a bargain on an i or take a Leaf.
Me and my i, well we just rolled 19k miles today and wouldn't have it any other way!

It sure reads like a sell-off. Certainly they're disposing of all those 2012 i-MiEVs they forced dealers to stock (my salesman said it was two per dealership, but you can evaluate that for yourself). The only ray of hope here is that this is a necessary step before they could roll out the 2013s at a better price point, as it would have been unfair to stick the dealers with 2012 inventory under the circumstances. Even in that best case scenario, I think this means that the 2013 would be order-only for most of the country, assuming it shows up here at all. I'm less convinced than I was earlier that the price hike in Canada means they've given up on selling at a reduced price in the U.S., but the prospects are not good.

I won't rehash my litany of complaints about Mitsu's lack of marketing support for the i (I have yet to speak with an inquisitive passer-by who had any idea what the car was, or that Mitsu even had an EV), but I will say I'm enjoying the car itself more and more as I've driven it through a winter and into the current windy season (commonly referred to by non-Albuquerqueans as "spring").

Last I looked we still had a couple left in town that TrueCar says are available at 7-8k discounts, so I'm advising more adventurous and/or green friends around here that's likely one of the best EV deals we're going to see for the next couple of years at least (if you want a back seat and a trunk, anyway ;-) )