Consumers across the United States purchased 52,227 hybrid and more than 12,000 plug-in electric vehicles in April 2014.
Hybrid sales were up 32.5 percent compared to April 2014, while plug-in vehicle sales were 30 percent higher than April 2014. Compared to May of 2013, sales of plug-in electric vehicles were improved by 62% when 7,454 plug-ins were sold.
Last month, hybrids represented 3.26 percent of the entire vehicle market, while plug-ins represented 0.78 percent of total sales.
HYBRID VEHICLE SALES
In May 2014, Toyota-Lexus posted sales of 35,733 hybrids. The Prius Family (excluding Prius Plug-in) recorded sales of 24,101 units. The Toyota Prius Liftback sold 15,944 units; the Prius c sold 4,590 units; the Prius v sold 3,567 units; the Camry Hybrid sold 5,199 units; the Highlander Hybrid sold 355 units; the Toyota Avalon Hybrid sold 1,957 units; the Lexus CT 200h sold 1,762 units; the Lexus RX450h sold 837 units; the GS450h sold 9 units; the LS600h sold 5 units and, the Lexus ES 300h Hybrid sold 1,408 units.
Ford-Lincoln sold 7,820 hybrids last month. The Ford Fusion sold 4,641 hybrids and the C-MAX Hybrid sold 2,051 units. Lincoln sold 1,128 units of the MKZ hybrid.
General Motors sold a total of 1006 hybrids last month. The Buick LaCrosse eAssist sold 772 units; the Buick Regal eAssist sold 64 units; the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid sold 2 unit; the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid sold 4 unit; the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid sold 10 unit; the GMC Yukon Hybrid sold 2 units; the GMC Sierra Hybrid didn't sold any unit, Chevrolet Impala Hybrid sold 58 units and the Chevrolet Malibu Eco sold 94 units.
Honda-Acura sold 2,890 hybrids. The Honda Insight Hybrid sold 493 units; the Civic Hybrid sold 415 hybrids, the Honda CR-Z Hybrid sold 389 units and the new Honda Accord Hybrid sold 1,530 units. Acura sold 63 units of the ILX gas-electric hybrid.
Hyundai sold 2,094 Sonata hybrids; while KIA sold 735 Optima Hybrid units last month.
Nissan sold 238 units of its Pathfinder Hybrid SUV, while Infiniti sold 137 QX60 hybrid crossovers, 12 M35h hybrids and 294 units of the new Q50 hybrid sedan.
Subaru delivered 1,003 XV Crosstrek Hybrid crossovers during the month.
Mercedes-Benz sold 16 units of the new Mercedes E400 Hybrid, while Mercedes S400 Hybrid didn't sold any unit during the month. Mercedes ML 450H sold 7 units last month.
Other German luxury carmaker, BMW sold 12 units of the ActiveHybrid 5, 13 units of ActiveHybrid 3, and 5 units of the ActiveHybrid 7.
Porsche sold 75 units of its new Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, Volkswagen sold 3 units of the Touareg Hybrid SUV and the Jetta Hybrid sold 209 units, while Audi sold 25 units of the Q5 Hybrid SUV.
PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES
May was the best-ever month for Nissan LEAF with 3,117 sales, an increase of 45.8 percent over the prior year. In May, LEAF passed 50,000 total U.S. sales since launch, further establishing it as the leader among electric vehicles. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the Nissan LEAF now stand at 10,389, an improvement of 36% compared with 2013 when 7,614 were sold.
GM said sales of the Chevrolet Volt rose to 1,687 in May, up 5 percent over last year's 1,607 number. Previously in April, Chevrolet Volt sold 1,548 units. Sales for the year are still off 4.5 percent to 6,838.
GM sold 52 Cadillac ELRs, which brings the total amount sold in the first 5 months to 293 units. The 2014 Cadillac ELR has a starting price of $75,995, including a $995 destination charge but excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees.
The Chevrolet Spark EV set an all-time record in May with 182 deliveries. Previously in April and March, Spark EV sold 97 and 108 units respectively. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the Chevrolet Spark EV now stand at 551.
The BMW i3 is now in customer hands with initial deliveries in its first month on sale totaling 336. The BMW i3 starts at $41,350 (without $925 for Destination & Handling) before any federal or state incentives.
Prius Plug-in Hybrid achieved 2,692 sales last month, which is up 282% compared to May of 2013. Previously in April, Toyota Prius Plug-in sold 1,471 units. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid now stand at 7,729, an improvement of 111% compared with 2013. Toyota RAV4 EV sold 149 units last month. Toyota RAV4 EV sold 69 units in April. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the Toyota RAV4 EV now stand at 455 units.
Ford C-MAX Energi sold 782 plug-ins, which is up 49% compared to April. Overall for the year, 2,940 Ford C-MAX Energi plug-ins have been sold, a 45% improvement of 2013.
May was also the best-ever month for the Ford Fusion Energi with 1,342 sales, 255 more than the old best-ever month number from last October. Previously in April, Ford Fusion Energi sold 743 units. Overall Ford has now sold 4,296 Fusion Energi plug-ins.
Deliveries of the Ford Focus Electric were 117 in May. In April, deliveries of the Focus Electric were 116. Overall Ford has now sold 699 Focus Electric EVs.
Porsche sold 53 Panamera S E-Hybrids last month. Previously in April, Panamera S E-Hybrid sold 63 units. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the Panamera S E-Hybrid now stand at 370 units.
Honda sold 33 Fit EVs in May. Previously in April, Honda FIT EV sold 34 units. Honda Fit EV production will be halted this fall when the automaker produces its 1,100th Fit EV. With the Fit EV being halted this fall, Honda will be left without a all-electric vehicle to compete in the growing segment.
The 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid logged 46 units last month. Previously in April, March, February and January, Accord Plug-in Hybrid sold 37, 18, 24 and 27 units respectively.
Last month, smart fortwo ED sold 206 units, after selling 203 units in April. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the smart fortwo ED now stand at 814 units.
For May, Fiat 500e sold 167 units, which brings the total amount sold in the first 4 months to 850 units.
Mitsubishi sold 35 i-MiEV electric cars in may. Previously in April, Mitsubishi sold 12 i-MiEV electric cars. In terms of year-to-date results in 2014, sales of the i-MiEV now stand at 75 units. 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV starts at $22,995 including CHAdeMO DC quick charge port, representing a $6,130 reduction from the starting price of the 2012 model that preceded it.