FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales In January: Leaf, Volt Both LowFINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales In January: Leaf, Volt Both Low

In the first month of 2014, sales of the two most popular plug-in electric cars were lower than they’ve been in many months.
Sales levels likely fell victim both to the predictable winter slowdown in electric-car sales (which we saw in 2012 and 2013 too) and to particularly bad weather last month throughout much of the U.S.
MORE: FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales For 2013 Near Double Previous Year’s
The Nissan Leaf logged 1,252 deliveries–its highest-ever January, although its lowest single-month total since February 2013.
Nissan sold 22,610 Leafs in the U.S. last year, more than double its 2012 total of 9,819, and is expected to exceed that number by a significant margin this year.
MORE: Nissan Celebrates 99,999…100,000 Leaf Electric Car Sales
Based on January sales, however, it would appear that the production boost expected early this year from the Smyrna, Tennessee, assembly plant hasn’t yet reached dealers or buyers.
2014 Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, which entered 2014 largely unchanged except for a $5,000 price cut, racked up deliveries of 918.
That’s lower than its January 2013 sales of 1,140, and the lowest monthly number since January 2012–two full years.
For 2013, Volt sales in the U.S. were flat at 23,094–incrementally lower than the 23,461 sold in 2012.
January sales of the third highest-selling plug-in electric car in the U.S., the Tesla Model S battery-electric luxury sedan, are not known. They will not be made public until Tesla Motors releases its first-quarter financial results in April or May.
The Volt’s luxury counterpart, the 2014 Cadillac ELR luxury coupe, logged its first 6 deliveries in December, and added 41 more sales last month as well.
2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, Marin County, CA, Nov 2012
Plug-in hybrids
Analysts continue to watch the Ford’s deliveries of its two Energi plug-in hybrids, the C-Max compact hatchback and the Fusion mid-size sedan.
Last month, it delivered 827 C-Max Energi and 791 Fusion Energi vehicles–both fewer than the preceding month and considerably down on the November highs for both vehicles.
Between those two models, Ford has recently beaten monthly sales for the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid–that company’s sole high-volume plug-in.
After starting strong, sales of the Prius Plug-In–which has the lowest electric range of any plug-in car sold in the U.S., at a mere 11 miles–have tapered off.
MORE: 2015 Ford Focus Energi Rumored: 25 Miles Of Range, $27,500?
It actually sold more in 2012 (12,750 units) than it did last year (12,088), as more plug-in hybrid alternatives came onto the market.
The plug-in Prius nonetheless remains the fourth most-popular plug-in cars in the U.S., with sales last year of 12,088 and lifetime sales of more than twice that number.
Its sales last month were 803 units, its lowest since June of 2013, and a number that Ford easily surpassed–though each of its individual models didn’t quite reach that level.
2013 Honda Fit EV drive event, Pasadena, CA, June 2012
Low-volume and compliance cars
Meanwhile, the Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid logged deliveries of just 27 units, its lowest since March 2013. A total of 553 of the cars have been sold over 13 months.
But the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, the plug-in hybrid version of Porsche’s expensive large luxury sedan, logged a remarkable 141 deliveries–or one in four of the 546 Panameras sold in January.
That beats the Cadillac ELR, as well as other models from Chevrolet, Fiat, Honda, Toyota, and perhaps even Ford and Smart. Most don’t compete at all with Porsche, but it’s still a remarkable number.
Several additional plug-in electric models sell in quite small volumes–in all cases, less than 200 units a month, and in most, less than 100 deliveries each month.
That’s either because they’re in more specialized or lower-volume segments, or because they’re compliance cars deliberately built in limited volumes that allow carmakers to meet California’s requirements for sales of zero-emission vehicles.
MORE: Electric Cars: Some Are Real, Most Are Only ‘Compliance Cars’–We Name Names
Finally, among the low-volume battery-electric models, the Ford Focus Electric saw exactly 100 deliveries–its lowest monthly total since the previous January.
Smart delivered 97 of its battery-powered ForTwo Electric Drive last month, meaning it’s now sold or leased more than 1,000 of the electric two-seaters.
Chevrolet sold 93 of its Spark EV minicar in January, its best month since last August, bringing the total number delivered since last June to 632 altogether.
Toyota logged 63 RAV4 EVs delivered in January, its highest monthly sales since last October. A total of 1,351 of the Tesla-powered compact crossovers have now been sold.
The Honda Fit EV sold 30 units last month, its lowest total since May 2013. Altogether, Honda has now sold 692 Fit EV models since July 2012.
Mitsubishi moved exactly one i-MiEV battery-electric minicar. Yep, that’s right: one. Poor little thing; it must feel terribly lonely.
Fiat refuses to release a sales breakout for its plug-in Fiat 500; the company is thought to have sold about 400 Fiat 500e models last year.
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