Sales from Introduction: Hybrid Vehicles vs. Plug-in Vehicles

The Toyota Prius hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) was first released in the U.S. market in January 2000 and 324 were sold in the first month. The Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid-electric plug-in, and the Nissan Leaf, an all-electric plug-in vehicle, were first released in December 2010. The Prius plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) began sales in April 2012. The chart below shows a comparison of the sales of the Prius HEV from when it was first introduced, to the sales of the Volt, the Leaf, and the Prius PHEV when they were first introduced. The first month sales for the Volt were 326—two more than the Prius HEV's first month. Sales for the Leaf started out slower than the other vehicles, but rose dramatically from month 3 to month 7. Over the first 24 months from introduction, the Prius HEV achieved monthly sales of over 1,700 in month 18, the Leaf achieved about 1,700 units in month 7, the Prius PHEV achieved nearly 1,900 sales in month 8, and the Volt achieved more than 2,900 sales in month 23.