It’s a battle of less than epic proportions, yes, but the Chevrolet Volt outsold Nissan’s Leaf by a big margin for the second month in a row last month.
Last month the bow tie-branded plug-in hybrid managed to break its sales record by selling 2,831 units to embarrass the Leaf. While that could have been a fluke, September’s numbers suggest otherwise. Not only did the Volt maintain its increased sales pace, but it actually beat the August numbers with 2,851 sales.
Meanwhile, the Leaf sold 984 units which was an improvement over August but still far short of Chevy. Consumers aren’t seeming as warm to the idea of buying a pure EV anymore, something Nissan execs are aware of.
Worse still, Toyota is essentially pulling the plug on its Scion iQ EV before the little car hits the market, by limiting production to a scant 100 units.
Things are looking rough for the Leaf with a handful of outraged customers saying their car’s battery packs wore out much sooner than expected.
Bad press already plagued the Volt and with its Nissan competitor being pelted, Chevrolet is well positioned to pounce on what little market share there might be. Ultimately, it seems the company’s strategy to offer a gasoline “security blanket” is paying off despite early concerns about spontaneously combusting cars.
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