Tesla Model S, Nissan LEAF, & BMW i3 Top US Electric Car Sales In February
Here’s my latest electric vehicle sales report, originally published on EV Obsession:
US February electric car sales are in, and the medals go to Tesla (Gold), Nissan (Silver), and BMW (Bronze). They were head and shoulders above the rest. Of course, when it comes to Tesla, it was an estimate (as requested by readers). My estimates for Tesla are based off of a number of official statements from Tesla, and I’m fairly confident about how they add up in aggregate, but they are definitely estimates.
The biggest surprise for me this month was the BMW i3’s strong showing, logging over 1,000 sales. Congrats to BMW. Naturally, everyone knows the Model S is the best electric car on the market, but that it also isn’t cheap. The BMW is a strong step down, but is a big step above most other electric cars. Furthermore, unlike the Mercedes B-Class Electric (which is comparable in many respects), the i3 is very widely available. Compared to almost every other conventional automaker (barring Nissan… and maybe GM), BMW is seriously pushing electric cars. The first part of that, of course, is actually making them available to customers.
The Chevy Volt has dropped off a lot compared to last year, but that is to be expected with the 2016 Chevy Volt soon to hit the market. Plus, competition from the BMW i3 can’t help.
As usual, Ford doesn’t stand out as a leader… until you add up the sales from its two Energi models. If you count the C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi together, Ford actually rises above BMW to take the bronze. Meanwhile, the Toyota Prius Plug-in has fallen a great deal, which is not terribly surprising when you consider how it stacks up to competitors. Yet another sign that Toyota has lost its way.
Another interesting note that Autoblog Green‘s Sebastian Blanco found is that the Chevy Volt is now just 2 sales above the LEAF in all-time US sales. The LEAF is sure to take the top spot after March sales come in, but we’ll have to wait to see if the Volt can regain enough ground once the hot 2016 edition becomes available.
You can look for more interesting tidbits in this month’s charts and tables here:
EV Model | Feb 2015 | Feb 2014 | % Change | YTD 2015 | YTD 2014 |
BMW i3 | 1089 | 0 | 1759 | 0 | |
BMW i8 | 113 | 0 | 198 | 0 | |
Smart ED | 76 | 122 | -37.7% | 223 | 219 |
Fiat 500e | 117 | 185 | -36.8% | 236 | 365 |
Ford C-Max Energi PHEV | 498 | 552 | -9.8% | 893 | 1023 |
Ford Focus Electric | 145 | 129 | 12.4% | 230 | 229 |
Ford Fusion Energi PHEV | 603 | 779 | -22.6% | 1029 | 1312 |
Cadillac ELR | 127 | 58 | 119.0% | 219 | 99 |
Chevy Volt | 693 | 1210 | -42.7% | 1235 | 2128 |
Chevy Spark EV | 119 | 71 | 67.6% | 205 | 164 |
Honda Fit EV | 0 | 33 | -100.0% | 0 | 63 |
Honda Accord PHEV | 12 | 24 | -50.0% | 40 | 51 |
Kia Soul EV | 48 | 0 | 117 | 0 | |
Mercedes B-Class Electric | 109 | 0 | 349 | 0 | |
Mitsubishi i | 2 | 3 | -33.3% | 5 | 4 |
Nissan Leaf | 1198 | 1425 | -15.9% | 2268 | 2677 |
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid | 106 | 0 | 189 | 0 | |
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid | 40 | 57 | -29.8% | 101 | 198 |
Tesla Model S | 2000 | 1800 | 11.1% | 3500 | 3600 |
Toyota Prius PHEV | 397 | 1041 | -61.9% | 798 | 1844 |
Toyota RAV4 EV | 0 | 101 | -100.0% | 0 | 164 |
VW e-Golf | 130 | 0 | 311 | 0 | |
All EVs Total | 7622 | 7590 | 0.4% | 13905 | 14140 |
100% Electric Total | 4916 | 3684 | 33.4% | 8967 | 7120 |
PHEV Total | 2706 | 3906 | -30.7% | 4938 | 7020 |
EV Model | % of Feb 2015 | % of Feb 2014 | % of YTD 2015 | % of YTD 2014 |
BMW i3 | 14% | 0% | 13% | 0% |
BMW i8 | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
Smart ED | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Fiat 500e | 2% | 2% | 2% | 3% |
Ford C-Max Energi PHEV | 7% | 7% | 6% | 7% |
Ford Focus Electric | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Ford Fusion Energi PHEV | 8% | 10% | 7% | 9% |
Cadillac ELR | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
Chevy Volt | 9% | 16% | 9% | 15% |
Chevy Spark EV | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Honda Fit EV | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Honda Accord PHEV | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Kia Soul EV | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
Mercedes B-Class Electric | 1% | 0% | 3% | 0% |
Mitsubishi i | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Nissan Leaf | 16% | 19% | 16% | 19% |
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Tesla Model S | 26% | 24% | 25% | 25% |
Toyota Prius PHEV | 5% | 14% | 6% | 13% |
Toyota RAV4 EV | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% |
VW e-Golf | 2% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
All EVs Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
100% Electric Total | 64% | 49% | 64% | 50% |
PHEV Total | 36% | 51% | 36% | 50% |
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