Yggdrasill
Active Member
The Soul EV is doing quite well here in Norway. They're planning on making 5000 Soul EV by the end of next year, and 2550 of these have been allocated to the Norwegian market (according to the importer), 550 of them by the end of 2014. I believe they are sold out for 2014.
Ford doesn't have rapid charging - the Soul EV has CHAdeMO. The Soul also has a usable trunk, whereas the trunk of the Ford contains the battery pack. Add on top of that a better range, lower price (at least here) and 7 year warranty vs 5 year, and it's no contest. In a good month Ford sells about 30 Focus Electric here; if Kia actually sells 2000/year, that means Kia will outsell Ford at least five to one.
Edit: I would also just like to say that Norway is a bit more of a level playing field than the US. There are no CARB requirements or any kind of legislation requiring the sale of EVs. Just equal insentives for all pure electrics. The companies only sell here because they see a market, a potential profit. In the US the companies have no qualms about selling at a loss, because all they want is the credits. Basically, if you don't succeed in Norway, your car sucks. (That's also why you don't see most of the compliance cars here.)
Ford doesn't have rapid charging - the Soul EV has CHAdeMO. The Soul also has a usable trunk, whereas the trunk of the Ford contains the battery pack. Add on top of that a better range, lower price (at least here) and 7 year warranty vs 5 year, and it's no contest. In a good month Ford sells about 30 Focus Electric here; if Kia actually sells 2000/year, that means Kia will outsell Ford at least five to one.
Edit: I would also just like to say that Norway is a bit more of a level playing field than the US. There are no CARB requirements or any kind of legislation requiring the sale of EVs. Just equal insentives for all pure electrics. The companies only sell here because they see a market, a potential profit. In the US the companies have no qualms about selling at a loss, because all they want is the credits. Basically, if you don't succeed in Norway, your car sucks. (That's also why you don't see most of the compliance cars here.)
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