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The HybridCars.com monthly sales Dashboard is a collaboration of HybridCars.com and Baum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm focusing on automotive issues including the hybrid and electric vehicle market.

March is sometimes called the “spring selling season” and sure enough, sales were up from a year ago and certainly up from the first two months of this year.

Sales in each of the vehicle categories were also up over January and February, although year-to-date sales were up (as compared to last year) for only plug-ins hybrids and battery electric vehicles.

Sales for full electric vehicles were up from last year on the strength of the Model S and Model X, the latter of which finally enjoyed a breakout month as production increased. The Model S also had a good month, which continues the pattern of the final month of the quarter resulting in high sales. The Leaf had another poor month, which suggests that this trend will continue until the version with greater range (107 miles) is fully available. As noted last month, the availability of the BMW i3 apparently remains an issue, as sales have been very low after a strong December when a push was made to meet annual sales goals.

Plug-in hybrids had a good month as compared to last month and year-ago, as the growth rates for the category were much greater than the overall market. The category leaders, namely the Volt, Fusion, and C-Max all did very well. Strong results vs. last year were augmented by the new entrants from Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Volvo. The Volt is now available nationally, but should continue to increase as inventories increase in line with production. Of course, the lack of availability of the Prius Plug-in for most of this year will offset the increases that will occur from other products.

Hybrids had another poor month, although sales of the new Prius are starting to increase (albeit still less than last year). Sales of the RAV4 continue to improve, and the Prius c and Prius v (based on the old Prius) continue to be available although sales are down from a year ago. The Hyundai Sonata hybrid and Lexus RX performed better than most of the other hybrids with sales above year-ago levels. Toyota’s products represent almost three-quarters of the segment this month, which is higher than the norm.

Of course, the diesel segment continues to struggle as VW has still (!) not reached an agreement with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board on a fix for its products. A judge allowed for a one month extension for a settlement, so it may occur this month. Even with the settlement, it will take many months for these vehicles to be back on sale with consumer reception still unclear.

Fiat-Chrysler’s diesel products, namely the Ram Pickup, ProMaster, and Grand Cherokee, represent two-thirds of the segment, which of course is far different than the norm, since VW is out of the market. The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon diesels are now in the market and their volumes continue to increase. The current version of the Cruze diesel is now out of production (limited inventories continue to be sold) and the replacement product is still some months away.