Chevy Volt sales drop to 1,788, Nissan Leaf up to 1,864 in July

Another month, another chance to see if more people bought a Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid or an all-electric Nissan Leaf. For 2013, the tally has been pretty much tied, with the monthly “win” switching back and forth between the two cars throughout the year. Now that we have July’s sales numbers – 1,864 units for the Leaf and 1,788 for the Volt – the yearly totals stand at 11,703 (Leaf) and 11,643 (Volt). That’s just a 60-car margin for the Chevy over seven months. Silver medals all around.

Still, July’s numbers show a bigger improvement for Nissan than they do for Chevrolet. Year-to-year Leaf sales were up 371.9 percent compared to 2012. That’s impressive, but only because just 395 Leafs were sold in July last year. Year-to-date, the Leaf has sold 230.3 percent more in 2013 in 2012, which is a good indicator that people are welcoming pure EV into their driveways. As for the Volt, year-to-date sales are up 9.2 percent. To put a positive spin on it, that means people continue to like the PHEV.

As always, our comprehensive monthly green car sales report will be up in a little while. For now, we can discuss how the 22,000 plug in vehicles sold so far this year by just two companies in just one country are changing the automotive landscape. Or not.