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Comment by mgadams3 | Hacker News Reader

I've owned 3 EVs and Tesla is the lowest quality car I've ever owned. Teslas weigh down the average b/c they're the majority of EVs on the road.

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Huge plus one, we sold our Tesla because it was a reliability nightmare.

Teslas the majority? I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs.

Is there any ranking of amount of EVs by brand sold to date?

AFAIR Nissan Leaf was selling quite well some time in Europe. And in 2022 I see BYD sold more vehicles than Tesla, but I can't find data for all the EVs sold in the past.

Not sure how reliable the source is but this [0] shows 60% of US EV sales were Teslas in Q3.

0: https://joinyaa.com/guides/electric-vehicle-market-share-and...

> I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs.

Eh, Model S was high-end but wouldn't call it luxury. Lots of regular people with a decent income bought it. Interior wasn't up to "luxury" standards.

My kindergarten teacher has a Model 3, so that's not really luxury at all.

> My kindergarten teacher has a Model 3, so that's not really luxury at all.

Dual incomes make this a weak metric. The Model 3 also retails for the same price as the BMW 5 series and Mercedes-Benz E class.

Huh, looks like the Model 3 sells for $47,000. Much less than I was expecting, but still a bit pricey for a kindergarten teacher.

Model 3 is 2x the price of Nissan Leaf, and Leaf is a bit price for its size. Leaf costs 2x the price of equivalent petrol car.

A car that costs 4x the price of "normal car" is a luxury for my taste.

And Model 3 is the least expensive Tesla car.

Eh depends on what you call equivalent. A base model 2023 Toyota Corolla is $21k, a fully decked out one is $28k or so. A 2022 Nissan Leaf is $27k. So not quite double.

Oh, you are right.

Nissan Leaf few years ago looked more like B-segment (subcompact - like e.g. Honda Fit) but now I see it is actually a compact (C-segment).

BYD sold more vehicles, but less BEVs than Tesla. BYD makes also plugin hybrids.

At least in Los Angeles, Teslas are more of an upgraded Prius. Most people with money have been replacing them with Taycans or E-trons over the last 2-3 years.

The wait list for a Porsche Taycan is 18 months to 2 years. They just can't make enough of them.

> I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs.

Aren't EVs in generally really still luxury (or at least high middle tier) brands? Are there EV equivalents of a Civic?

a Chevy bolt is competitive on price with tax incentives factored in. it's actually not bad, but imo the civic is a much better value unless you really want an EV.

I can't speak to what's currently available in the US market, but my 2014 Mitsubisht iMiev is blissfully basic. Unfortunately it was so much so that it didn't sell well here and got taken off the market. No central display screen other than a few monochrome characters for the radio. Buttons everywhere. Manual seats. No backup camera. The ~50mi range from a 16 KWh battery pack is suboptimal for long-range driving, but it's perfect for the city. It is smaller than a Civic though.

I get the impression that, for first-world markets, "EV" is synonomous with "Tesla" and that irks me. It's just a different drivetrain, but somehow the focus groups have decided that all EVs have to have the same de-featured tablet-on-wheels look. I'm generalizing here, but I agree with the sentiment behind your question. I wish there were more traditionally designed cars with EV drivetrains becuase when I drive this one into the ground I sure hope there's something similar to replace it with.

Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf are both cars I would consider to be Civic-class cars. Especially the Bolt. They also happen to be two of the cheapest EVs on the road, so it lines up.

Class possibly, but not price. Here in Canada the Leaf is $40k and the Bolt is $38k while the Civic is $26k.

I can't speak to other regions, but the base model Chevy Bolt is $26.6k in the USA. The Nissan Leaf is $28k.

Honda Civic base in USA is $24.6k.

That's a bizarre price discrepancy. I wonder if there's some credits in there that I'm not getting in Canada, or that aren't included in the initial price tag.

Those prices are without any incentives, actually. If they actually manage to get the 'made in America' requirement for the batteries, then I believe they'd be eligible for an additional $7500 off that price. Depending on where you live, there may be still state incentives available right now too.

The Bolt is the closest in the US. It has very limited DCFC capability compared to the Model 3, though.

EVs are luxury cars full stop. A luxury EV is a redundant phrase, outside of China.

In the US, the vast majority of EVs on the road are Teslas. Even today, they account for over 50% of sales. Other automakers are not shipping in volume to the US.

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