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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 January were down slightly from a year ago. Naturally, January sales were far below December since sales in January are generally low as automakers seek to meet annual sales goals in December. The same is true for hybrid and electric vehicles as the weather does not favor these vehicles and those trying to cash in on tax breaks (plug-ins and electrics) often try to close the sale by the end of the year. Plug-ins and all-electric vehicles were way up from a year ago on the strength of new products, while hybrids were up somewhat down with diesels.

Sales for all-electric vehicles were up from January of last year based upon strong sales of the Chevy Bolt (which was unavailable a year ago), and sales of the Tesla Model X. Although the Model X sold relatively poorly, it was still in ramp up a year ago. Model S sales were down dramatically from last December and down somewhat from a year-ago. (Sales of these two Tesla models are estimated.) Based on the strength of new products, the share of total production for full electrics is up significantly from last January although of course down from December.

Plug-in hybrids actually had a very good month as compared to January 2016 as the segment leader (Volt) sold over 1,600 copies. While this was well below December, it was 62-percent over January 2016. The Prius Prime was available for the third month and was responsible for much of the growth in the category. The Kia Optima plug in launched in January with 40 copies. A number of other products are available this January that were not available a year ago. As a share of total sales, plug-in sales were somewhat below the last several months, but still at a reasonably high level.

Hybrids had a month consistent with recent months with respect to category share. The Prius Liftback had a very poor month and was not the leader in the category as it usually is. The Ford Fusion hybrid jumped to the top which as we have noted has been updated recently. Of course, the RAV4 continues to do well and the Accord Hybrid (not available a year ago) are both significant contributors. While sales were obviously down from December, the drop in hybrid sales was in line with the drop in total sales.

In the diesel category, the Ram Pickup is the normal pacesetter. But, the EPA has made public a complaint against Fiat-Chrysler regarding “auxiliary emission control devices” on the product. While FCA states that these devices do not represent “defeat devices” and do not affect fuel economy, the law says these devices must be disclosed to the EPA. As a result, model year 2017 Rams have not been certified for sale and our volumes this month are down dramatically (note these volumes are estimated because FCA does not report actual sales) since only 2016 models have been released for sale – although they are subject to the EPA complaint as well. Going forward, we will be restating sales for the end of 2016 (which are not part of the display yet since our data is on a year-to-date basis). With the VW, Audi, and Porsche diesel products still out of the market – potentially never to return – sales in the segment are down from January a year ago and down from December 2016. The Ford Transit diesel is now over half the segment. Jaguar Land Rover is actually the second largest brand based upon the availability of five products.