Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, September 2016: new record?

2017 Chevrolet VoltThe past week has brought a "hat trick" of good news for Canadian plug-in electric vehicle owners. The Toronto Blue Jays made the major-league baseball playoffs, the Canadian government announced a national carbon price to come by 2018, and a spectacular September almost certainly shattered monthly electric-car sales records. DON'T MISS: U.S...

When will plug-in electric car sales exceed hybrid sales? Poll results

Jen Smith with her new 2016 Toyota Prius FourThe questions of whether and when sales of plug-in electric cars will resume their climb after a static 2015 are much on the minds of green-car advocates these days. It's taken as an article of faith that cars with plugs will grow as a proportion of the global market, ultimately supplanting large parts of the current gasoline fleet in decades to...

Tesla and China: why an obvious match isn’t as simple as it seems

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaChina is not just the world's largest overall new-car market, it's also now the largest market for plug-in electric cars. With its ambitious plan to build 500,000 electric cars per year beginning in 2018, it would seem to make sense that Tesla Motors would make China a priority. But Tesla has struggled in China since it launched the Model S there...

Plug-in electric car sales in Sept: Volt steady, Leaf higher

2017 Chevrolet VoltSales of plug-in electric cars in September chugged along steadily, with steady sales from both the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and stronger totals for the Nissan Leaf battery-electric car. Chevrolet logged 2.031 deliveries of its Volt hatchback, likely now almost all the new second-generation model, raising the year-to-date total to 16,326. That's...

Tesla delivered 24,500 electric cars in Q3, holds firm on 2016 goal

2016 Tesla Model STesla said late yesterday that it delivered roughly 24,500 electric cars during the third quarter, including 15,800 Model S sedans and 8,700 Model X utility vehicles. That total slightly exceeds estimates by at least half of the financial analysts who had projected deliveries from the Silicon Valley maker before their release. The third-quarter...

Michigan says selling Tesla electric cars in state is illegal, again

Tesla Store opening in Westfield Mall, London, Oct 2013Tesla Motors has, once again, been blocked from selling its electric cars directly to customers in Michigan. Over the past couple of years, Tesla has been engaged in a battle with Michigan's franchised car dealers who—like dealers in several other states—view Tesla's direct-sales model as a threat. Most recently, Tesla submitted an...

European electric and plug-in hybrid sales for Jan-Jul 2016

2016 Renault Zoe electric carOnce more, the Renault Zoe has maintained the title of best-selling electric car in Europe now that sales reports have been compiled through July. As has been the case all year, the subcompact hatchback's only real competition for the top spot came from the Nissan Leaf, built by Renault's Japanese alliance partner. The Leaf still vastly outsells...

VA to deny Tesla a store license; dealers say they want to sell Teslas

Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]Tesla Motors recently had another setback in its fight with Virginia's franchised car dealers over direct sales of its luxury electric cars. Over the past several months, Tesla has battled dealers and their lobbyists in the state over plans to open a second company-owned store. Now, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is recommending against...