US electric car sales (pure electrics and plug-in hybrids) rose 4.4% in February 2016 vs February 2015, but that slight change masks large variations by type of EV. 100% electric cars dove 14% (4479 sales in Feb 2016 vs 5193 in Feb 2015), while plug-in hybrids rose a dramatic 41% (3644 sales vs 2589).
There are a handful of factors at play that make the trends complicated to decipher in a simplistic way. On the pure electrics side, many consumers are surely waiting for the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3. That is certainly eating into Nissan LEAF sales and the sales of all other moderately priced electric cars, and likely higher-end EVs as well. Tesla Model S and X sales, meanwhile, are estimated, so they could be a bit off, and they together were just 400 higher than February 2015. Furthermore, whether related to the above or not, BMW i3 sales dropped off a cliff, and they were a decent portion of Febraury 2015 sales.
On the plug-in hybrid front, the second-generation Chevy Volt has been doing fairly well, and sales rose 63% compared to Feb 2015 (1126 vs 693). Ford Fusion Energi sales also jumped a great deal — 55% (932 vs 603). In fact, it saw 2 sales more than the Nissan LEAF! That is possibly the first time it surpassed the LEAF.
Without a doubt, Febraury was an interesting month for EV sales. It hard to know how much those trends will continue, increase, or decrease in March and going forward.
For more details, here are the charts and table:
