U.S. Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Surge In July

July plug-in sales blow the roof off.

We estimate a total of 29,514 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in July, compared to last year's 15,540 and last month's 25,019. Based on automakers' sales reports and our estimates, 153,666 plug-in cars have been delivered through the end of July 2018. Needless to say, it was the best month of all time by leaps and bounds!

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July 2018 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card

Top Months for U.S. EV Sales to Date (estimated):

1. July 2018 – 29,514
2. March 2018 – 26,373
3. December 2017 – 26,107
4. June 2018 – 25,019
5. December 2016 – 24,785

The Tesla Model 3 topped our chart by a landslide, with 14,250 estimated deliveries. This makes it seven months in a row that the Model 3 has been the EV sales leader. At 38,082 sold so far this year, it more than doubles the No. 2 seller (Toyota Prius Prime at 16,239 on the year). It also accounts for nearly half of all EV sales in the U.S. for July.

Disclaimer/Historical accuracy: We've adjusted Tesla Model 3 delivery estimates down ~3% for Q2 2018 due to new information confirming deliveries to Canada, which was previously unavailable (August 10, 2018).

If you include the Model S and Model X (3rd and 4th on the year, respectively), Tesla delivered an estimated 16,775 vehicles last month, which heartily exceeds half of all electric cars sold for the month. For the year as a whole, Tesla has sold 60,952 vehicles in the U.S. out of a total of some ~154,000 overall EV sales to date. Soon, the automaker should be accounting for over half of all electric vehicles sold for 2018.

The Model 3 also topped multiple premium vehicles in combined U.S. sales and found a home in the top 10 for all passenger car sales on our shores. Whether or not you're a Tesla fan, this is truly incredible news for EV market share and adoption.

Not surprisingly, the Toyota Prius Prime lands in the two-spot for the month, regardless of numbers being down from previous months, at 1,984.

The Chevrolet Volt passes its EV stablemate to grab up the third-place position for July based on our estimates (1,475) and snags the fifth position for the year thus far. Chevrolet Bolt sales were up a touch to 1,175 to put the Bolt in the seventh spot for June and the sixth place for 2018.

The Honda Clarity PHEV and Nissan LEAF were the only other vehicles to sell over 1,000 copies in July, landing the cars in the 7th and 8th positions on our sales chart. LEAF sales dropped from last month and last year, totaling 1,149 for July 2018. The Clarity keeps pushing along with an estimated 1,440 Plug-in Hybrids delivered last month.

We'll leave you with some other final data points and another look at our completed sales chart.

Other Statistical Points of Interest from July 2018

Top Manufacturers Of Plug-In Vehicles:

1. Tesla* – 16,775
2. General Motors* – 2,676
3. Toyota – 1,984
4. BMW Group – 1,859
5. Honda – 1,615 (including a handful of FCVs)
6. Nissan –  1,149

Pure Electric Car Market Share vs PHEV In July*

1. BEV – 20,111
2. PHEV – 9,403

*Based on estimates due to the lack of U.S. monthly sales reporting by Tesla and GM, as well as BMW i3 splits (BEV + REx).

Above - 2018 Monthly Sales Chart For The Major Plug-In Automakers – *Estimated Sales Numbers – Reconciled on Monthly or Quarterly Totals, ** Estimated (Based on State/Rebate Data and other reports). BEV models are designated with the icon.