IEVS: Global EV Sales In September 2019 Drop Down 8%: Tesla Leads The Way

https://insideevs.com/news/379582/global-ev-sales-september-2019/


Sales down in both China (reduced incentives in June) and the U.S. YoY. BEVs are down 1%, PHEVs 23% for a total of 183k for September, and PEV market share for the year is 2.3%, with 1,608,000 sold. Not a good trend.

OTOH, via IEVS:

Electric Cars Outsell Manual Trans In U.S. For The First Time Ever

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https://insideevs.com/news/379929/electric-cars-outsell-manual-transmissions/

. . . It turns out that manual transmissions accounted for just over 1 percent of new car sales during the period. Meanwhile, EV sales garnered just under 2 percent of the market. . . .

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As someone who's owned manuals exclusively since I started driving, and who'll miss one when I finally make the move to an EV (which is why I'll insist on having adjustable regen on the fly controls), I'm conflicted about this. I'm happy to see PEVs reach 2%, but am sad that so many people will never know how much fun driving a stick can be, in the right car. Granted, many people's driving consists of sitting in stop-and- go traffic twice a day where a stick can be a pain, and many of them would be happy to let the car drive itself while they interact with their phones, but for sheer driving engagement on an appropriate road, IMO it's not possible to beat a car with a good manual/clutch, with equally good steering feel, handling and displays.

No doubt there'll come a time when the only place you can drive a car yourself, maybe even try to learn a stick, will be at amusement parks, with the cars specially prepped to prevent any dangerous excursions like the cars at Disneyland with a center guide rail, although future ones will presumably do it with electronics, giving people the illusion of control without the reality.

GRA said:

but am sad that so many people will never know how much fun driving a stick can be, in the right car. Granted, many people's driving consists of sitting in stop-and- go traffic twice a day where a stick can be a pain, and many of them would be happy to let the car drive itself while they interact with their phones, but for sheer driving engagement on an appropriate road, IMO it's not possible to beat a car with a good manual/clutch, with equally good steering feel, handling and displays.

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Agree! Not that I'm not more than happy driving my automatics(or CVTs) for my daily in town driving(with my mega swig in one hand and the steering wheel in the other ) but many of my earlier cars were sticks; VW bug, Audi 100LS, various Volvos all sticks, Fiats all sticks, Sabb stick, several old Dodge pickups, etc. in fact my first auto was a 65 Dodge Dart(probably my 10th vehicle but it was old at the time) with a push button auto I loved that simple shifter but you didn't feel connected with the road like the sticks. Oh and then there was my 1L 3cyl Geo Metro, with it's 5 speed it wasn't really too bad getting going(as long as the AC wasn't on) but automatic versions of the same car couldn't get out of it's own way, they were a dog!
The only stick I have left is an old Fiat X-19 with a 5 speed, so fun to drive out in the country, no way I'd want an auto or worse CVT in that car.

Again auto's have their place and I wouldn't want anything but for my daily drivers but for small cars and especially smaller sports cars, a 5 speed is the way to go

The only stick I have left is an old Fiat X-19 with a 5 speed, so fun to drive out in the country, no way I'd want an auto or worse CVT in that car.

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Don't go too fast around the corners, especially if you put bigger wheels on it. They have a tendency to fall off.