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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.

Overall sales for August were down from a year ago although they were up from July.

Clearly, sales this the year overall are down from a year ago as well, and this trend is likely to continue as the decline for 2017 is currently at 2.8 percent. Each of the non-conventional powertrain categories was up from July, and all were up from August 2016 except diesels. Year-to-date, all categories were up except for diesels.

Sales for full electric vehicles were up from July and as compared to last August. Of course, year-to-date sales are up significantly based primarily on new entries. We estimate an additional 70 Tesla Model 3s were sold in August as production ramps up slowly. We believe that Model S and X sales were up from July, but Model S sales were down from year-ago. The Bolt actually led the category (and enjoyed its best month yet) as vehicles are now available throughout the U.S. (although often by order only). However, the increase from July was relatively modest and sales remain around 2,000 per month. The Leaf had another poor month, but the new version will be shown in early September, and be available for sale early in 2018. Sales of the current model will remain modest as buyers wait for the increased range and improved styling of the new model.

Plug-in hybrids were up from July, last August, and year-to-date. The Prius Prime and the Volt led the category, with the Ford Fusion and C-Max following. Volumes of the Pacifica are still estimated and we believe that the quality issues have been solved and therefore sales are increasing, albeit at a modest rate. Volumes of the Volt have been declining since they peaked in March of this year. Year-to-date, they are down modestly from last year’s total. Sales increased in the second half of the last year (since the model was new), so the decline in sales for this year is likely to increase as the year continues. The Prius Prime has reached a steady rate of between 1,600-1,900 monthly and of course is up from last year since it has only been available since November 2016. The Volvo XC60 is new to the Dashboard this month, although sales began in July (and those sales are now included). It joins the larger Volvo XC90 which has been available for two years.

Hybrid sales were up from July, last August and year-to-date, with the Prius Liftback still leading the category. That said, the vehicle remains well below previous years. The Toyota RAV4 had another good month, as did the Fusion hybrid. A new entry has been added to the category, namely the GMC Sierra mild hybrid. This vehicle is only available in California on two wheel drive models and is an experiment to see if demand for this vehicle justifies continued and/or expanded production. Of course, four wheel drive is very popular on full size pickups, thus this will limit the volume of this product. The vehicle uses the eAssist technology which is used on a variety of other GM vehicles including the Malibu. Volumes in August were over 3,000 with a total of 3,300 year-to-date. Sales of this model are likely to be somewhat erratic, particularly given that plants producing this vehicle will be down for several weeks this fall for preparation of a new model (including gasoline engine versions) that will appear late in 2018. The Kia Niro and Honda Accord hybrid also had strong sales above 2,000 each in August. Toyota’s hybrid share in August is just over 50 percent as other automakers experienced relatively good sales last month as compared to Toyota.

The diesel segment had a good month (following a poor July) based on two important factors: 1) Ford Transit sales returned to “normal” and the vehicle leads the category by a large margin and 2) Ram Pickups are now being sold (albeit in small numbers in August) with the EcoDiesel engine. This engine has been off the market since early this year because of a lack of certification from EPA. That certification is now in place and sales volumes will rise in coming months as more production becomes available. In addition, a new vehicle has been added, namely the Range Rover Velar.