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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 February were down slightly from a year ago but as usual they were up significantly from January. Plug ins, battery electrics, and diesels were up from a year ago on the strength of new products, while hybrids were down.

Sales for full electric vehicles were up from February of last year based upon sales of the Model 3, Model X, BMW i3, and Chevy Bolt.  Sales of the Tesla Model S were down. While sales of the Model 3 remain far below plan (including Tesla’s revised plans), sales are growing but meeting the goal of 2,500 a week by the end of March seems unlikely.  Sales of the Model S and X are rather modest, but we expect that the last month of the quarter will result in greater sales, albeit less than in previous years. Sales of the Bolt increased from January, although sales in January and February were below most months of last year when the model was ramping up.  Nissan LEAF sales are still modest, but are starting to increase as availability of the new model expands. Even with these issues, the category is up by almost 30% for the year based upon the launch of the Tesla Model 3. Given the three products in its lineup, Tesla has over half of battery electric vehicle market share.

ALSO SEE: January 2018 Dashboard

Plug in hybrids also had a very good month as compared to last year as the Prius Prime sold well.  The Chevy Volt is second in the category, but sales have been hurt as demand has moved from the Volt to the Bolt. The Honda Clarity is relatively new to the market and is the third best-selling product in the category. The Mitsubishi Outlander plug in is in its second month at over 300 units.  The Mercedes GLC 350e plug in is new to the market this month, although volumes were very modest. The GLC joins the GLE, C-Class, and S-Class as Mercedes offers a broad line of plug ins.

Hybrids were down from year-ago and year-to-date as the segment leaders are flat or down.  The Ford Fusion is down year-to-date, while the Prius Liftback is down as compared to last February and year-to-date.  Slow sales of the Prius are a recurring story, and without significant incentives this result is unlikely to change going forward.  In fact, the Prius Liftback is selling well in Japan and it is unlikely that volumes made available to the US market will increase. Other leading vehicles in the segment did better in February including the Toyota RAV4, Kia Niro, and Toyota Camry.  The Hyundai Ioniq hybrid is relatively new to the market and has seemingly found its monthly level at about 1,000. The Nissan Rogue hybrid is selling well below the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V hybrid remains as a likely entrant which has just been confirmed for Europe, but not yet for the US.

In the diesel category, the Ford Transit and Ram Pickup (volumes are estimated for both) lead the category, and represent almost two-thirds of total sales.  Sales from the Volkswagen Group continue (as the EPA and California Air Resources Board have allowed vehicles to be sold after being modified), but the volumes are modest.  It is likely that new vehicles from the Volkswagen Group will not be offered with diesel engines in the US. BMW continues to offer products at modest levels, with Mercedes clearing their existing stock.  GM is offering the GMC Terrain and Canyon and the Chevrolet Colorado and Cruze, although volumes are relatively modest.

Fuel cell vehicles are only offered by Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai and only available in California.  This is because the necessary fueling infrastructure is only available there. Hyundai sales are negligible as they prepare for a new model.  The Toyota Mirai has been the segment leader, but the Honda Clarity has returned to the market in the last two months after a three-month hiatus.  Toyota’s sales are somewhat more consistent with over two years of sales.