Published June 4, 2012
By Jeff Cobb
May was the second-highest sales month for the Chevrolet Volt since its launch in December 2010, with 1,680 units delivered, and exceeding numbers posted by ostensible rivals.
The Volt’s all-time record was set in March this year, when Chevrolet sold 2,289 of the extended-range electric plug-in cars, topping a previous high watermark set in December of 1,529 Volts sold.
Compared to April’s (expected) downturn of 1,462 Volt sales, last month things went in a more positive direction for GM’s still-proving-itself technological halo, even as new competition has since come online from Toyota.
In March, the Japanese maker of the long-established Prius began delivering its long-awaited plug-in version, which as soon as April topped the Volt in units sold at 1,654 versus 1,462.
May saw the tables turn with the Prius plug-in hybrid selling just 1,086 units. During the same month, Nissan’s all-electric Leaf – also launched December 2010 – improved from 370 sold in April with 510 units sold for May.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Al Castignetti, vice president of Nissan’s North American sales said part of the Leaf’s shortfall was due to lack of availability.
“I have huge dispersion issues,” Castignetti said. “In places like California, dealers have pretty good inventory, but I’ve got states that literally have no Leafs, and we’ve got to address that.”
As for the plug-in Prius, while the Volt’s May victory is not insignificant, it should be noted the first three months for the Toyota PHV were better than the first three months for the all-new Volt last year, and Toyota’s hybrids have a comparative legion of fans.
Taken as a whole, last quarter the Prius line – comprised of the Liftback, Prius c, Prius v, and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle – established themselves as the third-leading seller worldwide.
Without a doubt there is positive pressure favoring everything Prius that Volt and Ampera fans will yet want to watch and see as to whether it proves a continued sales booster for the plug-in Prius in months ahead.
At any rate, for those rooting for the Volt to make it, May was a good month as GM puts behind it a federal battery fire inquiry, congressional hearing, and many critical voices that amounted to mud thrown at an idea that could very well prove out.
If we look at month-to-month sales as a “sprint,” the Volt is standing on the winner’s podium for May. What’s arguably much more important is the long-term endurance race in which GM's "Voltec" technology is still very much competing.
Even if the Toyota PHV outsells it on another day, and the Leaf and other plug-in cars come along as well, the big picture is electrified technology is progressively succeeding. While fans will have their favorites, others have pointed out that it’s not necessarily a zero-sum game, but one where each of these different approaches contribute to a departure from conventional fuels.
At the same time, they are forcing automakers to create high-mpg conventional cars as California’s Air Resources Board and federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and European legislation also add pressure on every automaker to clean up its act in order to continue onward.
