Electric Vehicle Sales In The US Hit All-Time High In May!

The Introduction Of The BMW i3 Helped May Set A New Plug-In Selling Standard (Above: First i3 REx Delivered To US -mine!- shown)

Note: This post was written by Jay Cole and first appeared on InsideEvs.com. The news was just too good not to share here! The times, they are a-changin!

Since the start of the ‘current generation’ of plug-in vehicles in the United States, no one month has ever failed to delivered an improved result over the year prior.  Ever. Including this month, that number is at 42 and counting.

More Than 3,100 Americans Hopped In The Front Seats Of A New Nissan LEAF

However May still caught anyone who follows the EV selling trends off guard, as what had been expected to be a solid month turned out to be the best selling month of all-time.  Any month.  Any country.
In total just over 12,000 plug-ins where sold, compared to the previous all-time high set in August of 2013 when and estimated 11,273 moved onto American’s driveways.  Compared to May of 2013, sales improved by a massive 62% when 7,454 plug-ins were sold.

Unlike August of 2013 when the Chevrolet Volt single-handed propelled the number higher (3,351), May’s record month was a combined effort from 3 automakers – Nissan, Toyota and Ford.
All three OEMs saw new record highs for their best selling plug-ins.

• Nissan LEAF – 3,117 (previous best – 2,529 – Dec 2013)
• Toyota PHV – 2,692 (previous best – 2,095 – Oct 2013)
• Ford Fusion Energi – 1,342 (previous best – 1,087 – Oct 2013)

Also adding to the totals was the BMW i3, which sold 336 copies during the month (story on that here) – the best debut month for any plug-in to date in the US.  In total 11 of the 17 mass produced plug-ins sold in America set a new yearly high.

The top five selling plug-in  manufacturers for May were:

1. Nissan – 3,117
2. Toyota – 2,841
3. Ford – 2,301
4. General Motors – 1,918
5. Tesla – 1,000*

Other plug-ins that set new all-time highs in May:

• smart ED – 206 (previous – 203, Apr 2014)
• Chevrolet Spark EV – 182 (108 – Mar 2014)
• BMW i3 – 335 (1st month)

2014 YTD Sales Chart

2014 Monthly Sales Chart For The Major Plug-In Automakers *Estimated Tesla NA Sales Numbers (Q1 Sales reported @ 6,457-3,000 Intl Delivers) *Fiat 500e data estimated for Jan/Feb