Electric Car Sales are well - electric

June 2013 Plug-in Electric Car Sales Numbers

Electric vehicles saw one of their best months of sales ever in June 2013, according to Autoweek's new report on numbers from the Electrification Coalition. It's a nonprofit group of industry leaders, battery manufacturers, and automakers, all geared toward promoting the use of electric vehicles on a mass scale. According to their figures, almost 9,000 electric plug-in vehicles were sold in the U.S. in June, topping off a two-and-a-half year surge that saw the sale of over 110,000 cars throughout the country.

Specifically, Tesla closed up 8.4 percent of the luxury market in the first half of 2013, beating out sales by the Mercedes-Benz S-class, the Audi A8, the BMW 7 series, and virtually every other competitor. That's in line with Tesla's earlier report that it beat out every competitor in the first quarter of 2013, turning a profit for the first time in its ten-year history. Back in November, Tesla's Model S roadster won Motor Trend's Car of the Year award for 2013, and in May Consumer Reports said the car "comes close" to being "the best car ever." Nissan's Leaf is also enjoying success in cornering 3.3 percent of the subcompact market.

In fact, sales of electric-battery-only vehicles beat out hybrid cars completely in the first half of 2013. According to Green Car Report's figures, 9,839 Nissan Leafs, 882 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, approximately 9,400 Tesla Model S cars, and 1,700 or so other compliance cars, nosed past the total of 18,335 plug-in hybrids and Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars. The six-month sales figures from the Electric Drive Transportation Association were a little different, but reached the same basic conclusion. Most of the action came from the explosion in Tesla sales, which — while its second-quarter report won't be released until August — put it well on track to flout analysts' expectations and hit its stated goal of 20,000 sales a year. [Climate Progress] [Graphic Credit: Hybrid Cars]