July's green-car sales results, while still somewhat tepid, were enough to make auto-industry watchers downright patriotic, as increased demand for Ford and General Motors' hybrids and plug-in vehicles partially salvaged what was still a tough month. In fact, take out the impact of Volkswagen's continued stop-sale on diesel vehicles (of which more than 8,000 were sold in July 2015), and green-car sales were about dead-even with year-earlier figures. As it was, US green-car sales fell 17 percent to about 40,500 units. As for plug-in vehicles, demand spiked 20 percent from a year earlier to more than 10,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, Ford, which late last month touted the rise in its Fusion Hybrid sales in Los Angeles, reported a 29-percent increase in green-car sales to 7,466 units. Sales of the Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid rose 63 percent and 57 percent from a year earlier, respectively, though sales of the C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi PHEV were each down about nine percent.
BMW also fared well with its i sub-brand sales. The i3 EV moved 1,479 vehicles, up 58 percent from a year earlier, and that more than offset a 24-percent drop in i8 sales.
Nissan wasn't terrible either, as sales of its Leaf EV were down 9.5 percent from a year earlier to 1,063 units. Roughest, though, was Honda, were green-car sales plunged 61 percent from a year earlier to just 913 units.
Through July, US green-car sales fell 22 percent from a year earlier to almost 236,000 vehicles. Plug-in vehicle sales rose 7.1 percent to about 61,000 units.
And the Americans took the lead, even setting aside Tesla Motors (the electric-vehicle maker's sales continue to be on the upswing, but the company doesn't disclose monthly figures). For starters, GM's Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in experienced its best sales month in almost two years, with demand jumping 83 percent from a year earlier to 2,406 units. Sales of the Chevy Spark EV climbed more than five-fold to 333 units. Overall, GM's green-car sales were up 49 percent to 3,231 vehicles.Demand for plug-in vehicles spiked 20 percent to more than 10,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, Ford, which late last month touted the rise in its Fusion Hybrid sales in Los Angeles, reported a 29-percent increase in green-car sales to 7,466 units. Sales of the Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid rose 63 percent and 57 percent from a year earlier, respectively, though sales of the C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi PHEV were each down about nine percent.
BMW also fared well with its i sub-brand sales. The i3 EV moved 1,479 vehicles, up 58 percent from a year earlier, and that more than offset a 24-percent drop in i8 sales.
And while Toyota green-car sales were down, July wasn't a disaster. Americans bought almost 23,400 Toyota and Lexus hybrids and plug-ins, marking a 7.3 percent decline from a year earlier. While sales of the four Prius variants were down 29 percent from a year earlier to almost 13,000 units, the RAV4 Hybrid moved 4,692 vehicles.Sales of the four Prius variants were down 29 percent.
Nissan wasn't terrible either, as sales of its Leaf EV were down 9.5 percent from a year earlier to 1,063 units. Roughest, though, was Honda, were green-car sales plunged 61 percent from a year earlier to just 913 units.
Through July, US green-car sales fell 22 percent from a year earlier to almost 236,000 vehicles. Plug-in vehicle sales rose 7.1 percent to about 61,000 units.
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