EV, plug-in hybrid sales strong in October

SAN FRANCISCO -- Electric vehicle sales in October remained remarkably strong, defying poor publicity over lithium-ion battery issues and predictions that the technology was a flash-in-the pan fad. Industry estimates suggest that when all is said and done in 2012, electric vehicle sales will double to more than 35,000 units, from 2011's total.

Leading the pack was General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, which set a monthly sales record for the third month in a row with 2,961 cars sold last month.

The plug-in version of the Toyota Prius sold nearly 1,900 units, while the Nissan Leaf sold 1,579 cars, beating its previous monthly high by 43 percent.

The report comes as Pike Research released an analysis that showed growing and steady EV adoption in the next decade, which will vary by region.

At the same time, the estimated annual total for 2012 would be just 5 percent of President Obama's goal of having 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

EV and PHEV October sales

Chevy Volt	2,961
Toyota Prius Plug-In	1,889
Nissan Leaf	1,579
Tesla Model S	290-300*
Ford C-Max Energi	144
Ford Focus Electric	118
Fisker Karma	75-100*
Toyota RAV4 EV	47
Mitsubishi i-MiEV	30
Honda Fit EV	16

*Source & estimates: Green Car Reports, Inside EVs

Related stories:
--How hybrid electric vehicles can pay off
--Drive for Innovation Chevy Volt teardown series