Hybrid Sales

US green-car vehicle sales in January fell 8.6 percent from a year earlier, as Ford, General Motors falter.

US green-car sales in 2014 fell 6.5 percent from a year earlier as gas prices plunge. December green-car sales fall 7.8 percent.

To close out the year, sales of the two most-popular plug-in vehicles in the US kept going in the direction that they had been all year. The Chevy Volt dropped and the Nissan Leaf had another record month.

At some point in 2015, most likely in the first three months, cumulative sales of the Nissan Leaf will finally reach a higher number than those for the Chevy Volt.

Last month, Nissan and BMW helped stem a disconcerting (for green-car watchers, at least) trend of declining year-over-year sales, as increased demand for the Japanese and German automakers' plug-in models made November slightly less painful than October. The year-over year decline of hybrid, plug-in and diesel sales narrowed to 10 percent in November from 13 percent in October, as Americans bought more th

When you talk to people in the plug-in vehicle industry, one theme you hear repeatedly is that the more plug-in cars that are out there, the better things are for everyone. One reason is that more EVs build a need for more public chargers, and more chargers mean more people see that plugging in is feasible. But there's still something to be said for old-fashioned competition, and in the sales race between the two long-running plug-in vehicles in the US, the Sebastian Blanco

The BMW i8 plug-in hybrid is really fast. But the car is getting to customers really slowly. The German automaker might be doing something about that.

It's been a rough year for green car manufacturers. To many consumers, it appears that so-called green vehicles cost more and are more challenging to operate (limited range, low availability of "exotic" fuels, etc.) And with gasoline prices plummeting, American consumers are much less likely to spend more for a green vehicle.

Like the sun rising in the east, we thought we could always count on year-over-year US plug-in vehicle sales to rise. No longer. Sadly, even counting Tesla Motors' sales isn't likely to change that.

Fans of small victories will appreciate the "progress" that Americans made with their purchases of green-car vehicles last month. Automakers and everyone else, though, will scratch their heads. That's because green-car sales had their fourth straight down month in September, as Americans purchased about 42,000 hybrids, plug-ins and diesels last month. And while the deficit compared to last year wasn't as steep as August's 11 percen

The Nissan Leaf continues its streak of "best month ever" sales with 2,881 EVs sold in September. Compared to the 1,953 sold in September 2013, that represents an increase of 47.5 percent and, as Nissan itself must be tired of saying by now, it marks yet another best month ever, same as last month and now the 19th in a row. Okay, sure,

Heaven help the analyst trying to get a handle on year-over-year green-car sales numbers, because there is little rhyme or reason to them. Just when one would think the usual summertime bump in gas prices may spur more Americans to buy hybrids, plug-ins or diesels, the industry turns in another down month in July.

We have to blame the VW oil burners and Malibu mild-hybrids.

The Blue Oval may have to back off a bit from the green messaging. Ford has had to lower fuel-economy ratings on a number of 2013 and 2014 model-year vehicles, namely its hybrids. And that may force the US automaker to rethink some of its marketing strategy

Hybrids are known for their great fuel economy and low emissions, but it looks like given current market conditions, only about three percent of new car consumers are willing to pay the premium for them. A new study from IHS/Polk finds that the hybrid market share among overall US auto sales are falling, despite more models with the technology on sale than ever before.

As we've already learned, 2013 was a pretty big year for diesel and hybrid sales. According to registration data, there are now 7 million diesel passenger vehicles and 2.8 million hybrids on the roads in the US. Diesel registrations grew by 410,040 last year, and hybrids increased by 531,385. From 2010 to 2013, John Beltz Snyder

In the land of diesel, Toyota appears to be making money its own way and thereby making more of it. The Japanese automaker is taking on Europe's diesel-centric ways by substantially boosting sales of hybrids on the continent. That, along with cost cutting measures, has increased the company's European profitability

Advanced-powertrain vehicle sales continued to warm up with the weather, as Americans in May stepped up their purchases of hybrids, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and diesels.

"Now and again, I get the feeling, well if I don't win, I'm gonna break even," Tom Petty sang on his 1994 nugget You Wreck Me. And while we're not out to wreck any hybrids or electric vehicles, it's safe to say that the sentiment of that lyric is an appropriate one when analyzing last month's green-car sales.

Hybrids have come quite a long way from their roots as dull, slow, boring ecomobiles. Today, Porsche sells three hybrid models, one of which is the amazing 918 Spyder. BMW will soon sell four, including a low-slung, two-seat sports car. Even Ferrari and