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Despite what many media outlets are saying, EV sales are not down, nor is demand. The Costco Auto Program has shared similar insights, saying that more and more members are requesting EV models. To support this demand, Costco has significantly expanded its Q4 EV deals from two models to ten, with up to $2,000 in savings through early January, 2025.

Who would have thought the Costco Auto Program would be the business offering consistent deals on a growing number of new EV models.

The past year alone, we’ve covered the renowned wholesale retailers’ discounts on all-electric models like the Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevy Blazer, and Equinox EVs, the Polestar 2, and the Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge models.

On October 1, 2024 Costco announced a deal for both the pickup and SUV versions of the GMC Hummer EV and I even saw a physical model parked by the carts of my local store.

Today, Costco reported that customer requests for BEV models were up 31% in the first half of 2024, compared to a year prior. To support this growing demand for all-electric models, Costco has extended several of the EV purchase and lease deals mentioned above through 2024.

Costco EV deals
Source: Costco Auto

Costco Auto extends EV deals until January 2, 2025

You can see how all the current Costco EV deals breakdown here, but we’ve outlined the current saving below. As you’ll see, the current discounts now apply to ten different all-electric models, compared to only two BEV deals in Q4 2023. Per Costco Auto Program general manager Jay Maxwell:

In the fourth-quarter promotions held in the past two years, we included two electric vehicles from one manufacturer. This year, nearly half of the vehicles — 10 out of 23 — are BEVs. Interest is growing, so it’s only fitting that we give Costco members a variety of electric vehicles to choose from.

Starting today through January 2, 2025, Costco members can take advantage of deals on select purchases and leases of the following EVs:

EV Make/Model Costco Member-Only Incentive
Cadillac LYRIQ $1,000
Chevy Blazer EV $1,000
Chevy Equinox EV $1,000
Chevy Silverado EV $1,000
GMC Hummer EV Pickup $1,000
GMC Hummer EV SUV $1,000
GMC Sierra EV $1,000
Polestar 3 $2,000
Volvo C40 Recharge $1,000
Volvo XC40 Recharge $1,000

Costco states that customers who purchase or lease a new EV can still take advantage of any other incentives at the state or federal level, in addition the the discounts outlined above.

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Tesla now offers discounted financing on Cybertruck as the truck turns out to be a flop

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Tesla now offers discounted financing on Cybertruck as the truck turns out to be a flop

Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.

Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.

However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.

The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.

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The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.

Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.

We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.

For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.

Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:

Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:

1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers

WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.

While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.

We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.

Electrek’s Take

It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.

Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?

I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.

Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.

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Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000

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Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just ,000

Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.

Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X

The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.

Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).

After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).

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The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).

Toyota-cheapest-EV-China-bZ3X
Toyota launches its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X (Source: GAC-Toyota)

For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.

Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.

Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.

Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.

GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”

At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.

What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.

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New cars from Volvo, VW, Cadillac, and more – plus 0% on Model 3 as Tesla sales fall

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New cars from Volvo, VW, Cadillac, and more – plus 0% on Model 3 as Tesla sales fall

It’s been a big day for big reveals with the all-new Volvo ES90, a new compact electric city car from Volkswagen, plus a pair of new, over-the-top EVs from General Motors that perfectly exemplify American excess. All this and maybe the dawn of the long-awaited “Tesla Killer” on today’s revealing episode of Quick Charge!

GM is practically daring the competition to build a bigger, badder EV with a new, bigger $133,000 Cadillac Escalade and 1,100 hp off-road special in the form of the new Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2. Finally, you guys are never happy … try to enjoy this episode, anyway!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

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