Despite the usual trend of lower sales in February, Nissan managed to maintain its 12-month long sales record for the Leaf electric vehicle while sales of the Chevrolet Volt continued to trail in its rival’s wake.
Nissan sold 1,425 Leafs in February, an increase of 118.2 percent year over year and the best February sales the car has ever experienced, according to Autoblog. Nissan chalked the sales spike up to “amped up advertising in the latter half of February, which already has resulted in an uptick in sales and a significant increase in shopping traffic.” The automaker added they expect the momentum to continue into March.
Sales of the Volt meanwhile fell 25.6 percent from February 2013 to 1,210 units last month. And while the Volt still holds on to the overall sales lead over the Leaf, Volt sales appear to be slowing in 2014. In January, Chevrolet moved 918 units of the Volt, down from 1,140 in January 2013 and 2,392 in December 2013.
Seeing as the Leaf’s strongest markets were those with warm weather like San Francisco, CA and Atlanta, GA., the fast-paced battle for top EV should ramp up in coming months as the arctic-like weather that’s plagued much of the United States begins to dissipate.
Comments
Looks like it’s time for a revamp; how bout a greater electric range and a couple more thousands knocked off the MSRP? Although there are plenty of incentives on the Volt already……. It’s still a great car, and I hope things turn around soon, it’s just time for an update.
Needs at least 50 miles of electric only range, more efficient 3 cylinder for the range extender, and start at just over $29,000.
Too bad. I always thought the Volt was a well executed car, that had plenty of range for commutes for 90% of the population, and a range extender for the remaining 10%!
Still too cheap gasoline is.
I have only seen two leafs on the roads here since they came out. Volts are a daily sight here.
It is fun in the winter to see if they have condensation coming from the tailpipe to see if they are electric or gas. Most have no condensation.
I love the Volt! It is a stylish vehicle that doesn’t scream “lame” like a Prius or Leaf. A new one is on the way soon and I’d like to see:
-1.0L Turbo I3 (VVT, SIDI and iVVL) that has 120HP/135FT-LBS
-50+ Miles on electricity
-Bigger backseat
-Easier centerstack
-Solar Roof option
I would also like an Impala and/or Malibu hybrid powered by a 1.4L Turbo I4 (VVT, SIDI and iVVL) that has 175HP/190FT-LBS. I’d expect the Impala to achieve around 27/39 and the Malibu to get around 29/45..
And of those horrific sales, how many were government (aka charity) and to GE who makes the charging stations?
I live in rural Eastern Washington. The nearest town is 25 miles away. This is joke of a car for me.
How so? You do realize the Volt and ELR have onboard generators to keep them charged when they run out of electric power. Not to mention I know the Volt can travel 25 miles on pure electricity.
I live in medical lake and had a 50 mile roundtrip commute daily. Used to spend about $300-$350 a month in fuel. With the volt I spent $25 a month in fuel and about $15 in electricity. Max range I got one day was 42 miles on electricity before it switched to gas generator. Car has ran great in winter too even with expected range dropping due to colder temps.