Huge month from Ford keeps plug-in sales rolling in June

Electric vehicles set a record by selling 12,053 units in May, with the Nissan LEAF spearheading the attack by selling 3,117 of its all-electric mainstay. The EV industry nearly matched its new benchmark in June, as an estimated 11,893 plug-ins were sold in the United States (credit to Inside EVs). This represents a 43% increase in sales over June 2013.

The surprise leader of June sales? Ford’s fleet of plug-in vehicles: the Fusion Energi destroyed its previous record of 1,342 units (set in May) with 1,939 vehicles sold in June; the C-Max Energi moved 988 copies in its second-best month ever; and the Focus Electric sold a strong 197 units. Together, the Blue Oval was responsible for 3,124 EV sales to top the list of automakers.

Nissan continued its strong run with 2,347 LEAF sales, although it represented a significant drop-off from the high point of May.

The Tesla Model S sold an estimated 1,800 units in the United States in June, as the company prepares to shift its focus to right-hand drive deliveries for foreign markets.

The Chevrolet Volt continued its incremental month-by-month improvement in 2014 with 1,777 sales, though this number was 34% short of last June’s total. It is clear that the next-generation Volt cannot come soon enough for GM, although it is fortunate that the Volt has managed to avoid the recall plague sweeping GM models.

Rounding out the big players, the Toyota Prius Plug-In declined to 1,571 units, down from last month’s record-setting 2,692. The BMW i3 saw a marginal increase over its first month on the U.S. market to 358 sales in June.

Already 54,463 plug-in vehicles have been sold in the United States through the first half of 2014, representing a 33% increase over last year. If the plug-in segment can maintain its current pace, 130,000 electric vehicles will drive off the lot (or not, in Tesla’s case) in 2014. Still a long way to go, but the progress is quite apparent.