Tesla Misses Sales Target; Toyota Dumps The Toyota Prius -- July 3, 2016

Updates

July 13, 2016: in response to lagging sales of the Model S and Model X, despite a shortage of the same, MuskMelon announced that he is lowering the price of the Tesla models S/X.

Tesla said on Wednesday a new version of the Model X crossover, the 60D, will be priced from $74,000, $9,000 less than the Model X 75D. Equipped with a 60kWh battery, the 60D has less torque and a shorter range between charges than the 75D.

We've talked about this before. Folks who can afford a Tesla are not particularly concerned about the price. In addition, with range probably being the #1 issue when folks decide whether or not to purchase an EV, purposely buying a Tesla with a shorter range does not seem like something most folks would want to do. This smacks of buying a Tesla and then parking it in the garage. 

Original Post

 

The announcement of missed estimates, announced on a Sunday during a holiday weekend in the US -- CNET. From The Wall Street Journal:

Tesla said its second-quarter global sales rose 25% to 14,370, less than the 17,000 it had expected, as it worked to produce more vehicles.

Tesla said it produced 18,345 Model S and Model X vehicles in the same three months and that thousands of vehicles were in transit at the end of the three months that ended June 30.

While a 25% increase might seem strong, deliveries of its Model S sedan fell 15% to 9,745. Deliveries of the company’s Model X stood at 4,625. Since last year, the company began selling the Model X sport-utility and it has had problems ramping up production.

Tesla said in a statement that it has now achieved regular levels of higher production and expects to produce 50,000 vehicles in the second half of 2016. Through the first six months it has delivered fewer than 30,000 vehicles.

Also, from Forbes: Tesla's revenue and earnings about to take another hit:
The delivery miss should drop the analyst’s EPS projections further into the red. Keep in mind that before Tesla released its preliminary March quarter results in early April the Street was forecasting it to generate $0.14 in EPS in the June quarter. It had dropped to a loss of $(0.33) before these latest results were released. Gross margins will probably also be hit so the quarter’s loss could easily move above $(0.50) per share.

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Toyota Dumps The Prius

Wow, the beginning of the end. Remember this post about 18 months ago:

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Flashback

Honda Accord Sales Beat Toyota Prius In California -- First Time Ever (February 13, 2015)

Gas2 is reporting:

California is known for imposing tougher environmental regulations on car manufacturers than the EPA...

It became fashionable for every Hollywood star to have one parked in the garage alongside the Jaguar/Ferrari/Lambo. California has a lot of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on its many freeways and Prius drivers were allowed to use them even if they were driving alone. How cool is that? Eco-snobbery drove Prius sales through the roof, making it the best selling car in the state year after year.

Until recently.

During the first quarter of 2014, the Honda Accord muscled its way to the front of the line, edging out even the mighty Prius as California’s best-selling car. There are a couple of reasons for this.

Today, July 3, 2016, Don sent me this story: Toyota dumps Prius as sales collapse.

Hybrid and electric cars were the rage when gas prices where high. The grandfather of the category has been the Toyota (NYSE: TM) which recently fell on very hard times. Sales of the hybrid were off 26.7% to 11,027 in June and 25.2% to 67,405 for the first six months. Incentives on the Pruis (sic) have dropped to .9% for 72 months.

The Prius first came off the production line in 1997. Toyota has sold 3.7 million worldwide since then. Recently sales have been challenged by an army of other hybrids and the new found (sic) attraction of all electric cars like the Tesla  Model 3 which will be priced at $35,000 before government incentives, that could be several thousands of dollars more (sic). That will bring the car to about the same price level as a well-outfitted Prius. Granted, the Tesla will not be available until 2017, but the company has several hundred thousands of orders.

24/7 Wall Street suggests that Toyota dumping the Prius gives the edge to others, specifically, Tesla. One could also argue this is simply re-arranging the chairs on the USS EV Titanic.

Remember: Tesla orders cost only $1,000 and are completely reimbursable. Tesla orders mean absolutely nothing. 

And "..the Tesla will not be available until 2017." MuskMelon himself has said that there is little chance he will meet that deadline.

Without question, the #1 state for Prius sales: California. On June 20, 2016, just a few weeks ago it was announced that California "unplugged the state's electric car program."

Most recent (May, 2016) EV sales are posted here; we will know the June, 2016, sales later this week. In 2016, Toyota Prius has fallen off the cliff, selling about 5 cars/month. Prius sales crashed in early 2015.

I can't find the post, but I believe I posted earlier that the reason Toyota Prius fell off the cliff last year was because it announced it would be phasing out the Toyota Prius. Meanwhile, Toyota still has plent of EV hybrids to watch:

Virtually every large global manufacturer has one or more hybrid models. This was not the case when the Prius first hit the market. Even Toyota current has hybrid and FCV (fuel cell vehicle) of its Camry, Avalon, RAV4, Highlander, and Marai models.  In a sense, Toyota competes against the Prius.