The Chevrolet Volt outsells the Nissan Leaf in March 2011

Sales numbers from March are trickling in and for the third month in a row, the Chevrolet Volt has beaten the Nissan Leaf in the battle of the “green” heavy weights.

Things continued in March 2011 at full speed ahead for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, with the innovative electric-first hybrid moving 608 units – the best month so far. This is more than double the number of Volts sold last month (281), bringing the number of Chevy Volts sold in 2011 to 1,210 and with the 326 Volts sold in December of 2010, Chevy has moved a total of 1,536 vehicles.

In March 2011, Nissan had their best month in terms of sales of the Leaf electric vehicle, with 298 units sold. That more than doubled the previous sales (specifically delivery) numbers for the US market, and Nissan has now delivered a total of 471 Leafs since last December. 471 units out of the 20,000 that they promised would be sold in 2011…although there has not been an official comment from Nissan whether that recent string of natural disasters would change the original plan.

March 2011 will be remembered as the month when the Japanese auto industry was brought to its knees by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale along with the ensuing tsunami and nuclear explosions, all of which had a direct impact on Nissan but it shouldn’t have had a profound impact on the automakers ability to deliver new Leaf units to US consumers last month. As Nissan moves forward, shortages from lower tier supply companies could cause an issue in the American market for Leaf sales as the company focuses more on their domestic market. Then again, considering the fact that no Leaf orders are being taken, the worst case scenario for Nissan is that they continue to be slow to deliver their electric vehicle. Unless you are one of the people who pre-ordered a 2011 Nissan Leaf and you are waiting for it – as your wait might be even longer.

In the meantime, the Chevrolet Volt production seems to have been barely affected (so far) by the Japanese earthquake so as we head into summer, the Volt could stretch its lead in sales over the Leaf if Nissan is unable to pick up the pace of production and delivery.

Other Sales News:
Mustang rebounds but falls short of Camaro in March 2011 sales
The 2011 Chevy Volt rocks the Nissan Leaf in February sales
Chevrolet Volt stomps Nissan Leaf in first month of 2011
Alyssa Milano orders Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf to avoid gas usage
Slow delivery of the 2011 Nissan Leaf could continue