After 3 Months of 2018 Toyota Prius Prime Leads Among Affordable EVs, Outsells Bolt By 50%

After three full months of sales in calendar 2018, the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is ahead of the Chevy Bolt by 50% in sales. With a year to date sales tally of just under 6,500 units, the Prius Prime is way ahead of the Chevy Bolt's 4,375 units and the Prime's momentum is growing. In March, the Prime outsold the Bolt by almost two to one. The Prime had 2,922 units of sales and the Bolt just 1,774.

The Toyota Prius Prime is now the number two EV in sales overall in America. The Tesla Model 3 battery-electric luxury compact sedan has earned 8,180 units sold for the year thus far. That total is courtesy of EV-advocacy publication, Inside EVs. That hard-working team of experts scours VIN numbers and registration data to discern how many cars Tesla sold each month. Tesla hides this number from investors and the media until forced to disclose it by the SEC in quarterly reports.

Tesla could sell more of its Model 3, which starts at $45K, but Tesla has encountered significant manufacturing problems that it just can't seem to overcome. Tesla has a substantial back-log of reservations that it could fill were it not for the fact that the company cannot seem to scale its manufacturing despite nine months of its best efforts.

Nissan's new Leaf is still either being held back by the production ramp of its all-new design or simply not selling well. With just 2,545 units sold year to date, the Prius Prime outsold the Leaf's yearly total in just the past four weeks. The Chevy Volt is selling at a much slower pace than the Prius Prime and in a recent interview, Mary Barra of GM said that GM plans to go forward with battery-electric vehicles. Bye, Bye Volt.

The number three and four selling EVs overall year to date are the Tesla Model S and Model X sedan and minivan.