Plug-In Car Sales Breakdown: June 2012

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to take a look at our favorite automotive urination competition, the epic battle between the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and the Toyota Prius Plug-In.

Chevrolet emerged as July’s victor, as well as the year-to-date champion. With 1,760 Volts sold in June, the General is leading the plug-in sales stakes with 8,817 units sold in the first six months of 2012. Still not the kind of volumes that GM was hoping for. In second was the Toyota Prius Plug-In, with 695 units sold in June and 4,347 in the first half of 2012. The Nissan Leaf finished third, with 535 sold in June, and 3,148 cumulatively.

Nissan is blaming a marketing mishap for the Leaf’s slow sales. Rather than selling them directly to customers via a waiting list, the cars can now be bought off the lot, and a Nissan spokesman told Bloomberg that they “…miscalculated the marketing that had to go behind it.” The Volt, on the other hand, seems to have from a boost in sales in California, now that the car can be driven in the HOV lane without a passenger.

Regardless of the surrounding factors, adoption of plug-in cars is growing, albeit at a slower than anticipated pace. Chevrolet dealers still had a 90 day supply of Volts on June 1st, and breakdowns for the Prius Plug-In and Leaf weren’t available at time of publication. Leaf sales are down 69 percent year-over-year and 19 percent versus the first half of 2011. The Volt, of course, is doing much better.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Rod Panhard Rod Panhard on Jul 05, 2012

    Don't kid yourselves with trying to use logic and rational thought for considering the factors in the purchase of an electric vehicle. There's no logical reason to buy one. There are lots of emotional reasons to buy one.

    • See 4 previous
    • Paul Scott Paul Scott on Jul 06, 2012

      As others have pointed out, most car purchases involve a lot of emotion. For electrics, however, that is compounded in a good way because of the fact that EVs allow the driver to get from point A-B without all the massively negative aspects of internal combustion. No war or military actions needed to generate electricity. All of your energy money stays local, and costs 80% less than gasoline or diesel. Virtually no maintenance required. Allows you to use 100% renewable energy so there is no environmental impact from driving the car. These can be considered emotional reasons, and they are definitely good reasons, for buying an EV.

  • Carlson Fan Carlson Fan on Jul 05, 2012

    For me it's somewhat ridiculous to even compare the PIP to a Volt. With a charged battery the Volt is a no-compromise EV. Throw it into sport mode, pin up to 80 MPH and it won't burn a drop of gas. I can back a PIP out of my driveway with a charged battery and make it burn gas before I reach the end of my block. That's becasue the PIP is nothing more than your regular Prius with a bigger battery. Meaning unlike the Volt, it doesn't haven't beef in it's electric motors to propel the car under most driving situations.

    • Dynamic88 Dynamic88 on Jul 07, 2012

      Of course the comparisons get even sillier when we add in the Leaf, a pure EV. Apples to oranges to bananas.

  • Carbiz Carbiz on Jul 05, 2012

    If nothing else, Lutz was right about one thing: the Volt has brought GM back to the table. It doesn't matter which side of the debate one is on, the Volt has turned conversation back to GM and their technical prowess. I am silently hoping that they gambled correctly and this does not turn out to be a 6-6-4 or Oldsmobile diesel debacle of 30 years ago. And there is no reason to buy a plug in electric - yet. There was no reason to buy a horseless carriage in 1898 either.

  • Carbiz Carbiz on Jul 05, 2012

    If nothing else, Lutz was right about one thing: the Volt has brought GM back to the table. It doesn't matter which side of the debate one is on, the Volt has turned conversation back to GM and their technical prowess. I am silently hoping that they gambled correctly and this does not turn out to be a 8-6-4 or Oldsmobile diesel debacle of 30 years ago. And there is no reason to buy a plug in electric - yet. There was no reason to buy a horseless carriage in 1898 either.

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