Nissan Leaf has outsold Chevy Volt by 50% so far in 2015

We know, we know. The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf sales numbers for mid- to late-2015 aren’t all that meaningful because of the impending arrival of the next-gen Volt and the expected but not-yet-totally-confirmed debut of the second version of the Leaf. Nonetheless, tracking the sales of the first two major plug-in vehicles is something that remains interesting to us, if for nothing else that the all-electric Leaf remains slightly more popular than the plug-in hybrid Volt after all this time.

If we just look at August, the numbers were basically tied in the US. Chevy sold 1,380 Volts while Nissan moved 1,393 Leafs. But when we take a 10,000-foot view, the differences starts to appear. So far in 2015, GM has sold 8,315 Chevy Volts while Nissan has sold 12,383 Leafs. That means that the Nissan has outsold the Chevy by around 50 percent (to be specific, it’s 48.92 percent). Since the two vehicles went on sale in the US at roughly the same time at the end of 2010, 81,672 Volts have been sold, compared to 84,705 Leafs. That’s a difference of only 3,033 vehicles, so proponents of both powertrains can hold their heads high.

Looking just at last month, Volt sales were 45 percent lower compared to August 2014. So far this year, Volt sales are down 36.7 percent. The Leaf didn’t fare any better. Month-to-month, Leaf sales were down 43.7 percent in August, while year-to-date, Leaf sales are down 65.3 percent. Those second-gen models can’t come soon enough.

As always, we’ll have our broader wrap-up of monthly green car sales for August up soon. Stay tuned.