The Next Big Thing: Uber, Lyft -- June 3, 2016

Obviously Uber, Lyft were "the next big thing" some years ago. But when Wal-Mart gets involved, one knows things have changed:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will be testing its grocery delivery service with ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft in the next two weeks in Denver and Phoenix.

That's in addition to a quiet pilot program that started in March with Deliv for its Sam's Club customers that involves delivery of general merchandise and grocery for business members in Miami.

The move is the latest step in the retailer's efforts to better compete with Amazon, which is delivering groceries directly to shoppers' homes in several markets.

Is pizza delivery next? My hunch: yes.

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Auto Sales

GM sales in China surge.

GM and its joint ventures in China reported a 16.9% year-over-year increase in retail sales in May 2016, taking the figure to 295,282 vehicles.

The improved performance was driven by strong demand for SUVs, MPVs and luxury vehicles, along with notable demand for passenger car models like Buick Excelle GT. The Buick, Cadillac and Baojun brands, and SUV lineup also recorded all-time high deliveries in May.

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US EV Sales

EV sales link here.

Tesla Model S was #4, up to 1,200 in May (from 800 in April)

• #1: Chevrolet Volt: 1,901 (down from 1,983 in April)
• #2: Tesla Model X: at 1,600, doubled from its 850 in April
• #3: Ford Fusion Energi: up slightly from 1,331, to 1,453

After that, every EV model is below 1,000.

• Nissan Leaf crept up a bit, to 979 from 787

These showed decreases:

• Ford C-Max Energi
• BMW i3
• BMW XS
• Chevrolet Spark EV
• VW e-Golf

In fact, with minor exceptions, all makes/models showed declines.

Bottom line:

• April: 10,557
• May: 11,423

Mercedes Benz vs Autobahn, Janis Joplin, Kraftwerk, Matt Pop  

So, the 30-second, elevator speech: about 10,000 EVs are sold monthly in the US.