Timothy Moore
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EVs Are Selling Faster than Hybrids, According to Dept. of Energy

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The modern-day electric vehicle is the new kid on the block as far as automotive green technology goes. But being new to the green scene does not mean that EVs are still waiting to catch on. In fact, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Energy (released quite professionally via a Tweet), EVs are selling faster than hybrids did at the same point in their sales history. What this means is that in the number of months that electric vehicles have been on the market, more have been sold than hybrids had been at the same point.

Thinking about calling, “Baloney!” on this claim? Not too fast: first check out the graph below (while I make a bologna sandwich, because now you’ve gotten me hungry).

electric vehicles vs. hyElectric vehicles vs. hybridsbrids.png

Electric vehicles vs. hybrids

Numbers can’t lie. (Okay, so sometimes numbers can lie, but not these.) And while the Department of Energy did make a big goof on the vertical axis (labeling it as U.S. dollars and not total sales), the graph is still very clear: EVs are selling fast than hybrids did in the same number of months following their release, without a doubt. Electric vehicles, following their 2011 market entrance, have reached nearly 120,000 units sold in 30 months. In the hybrid’s first 30 months, automakers managed to move only about 50,000 units total, proving that the country’s—and the world’s—appreciation for alternative fuel sources and the stability of our environment has increased monumentally in the last thirteen years.

Need more proof? The all-electric Nissan LEAF® is currently selling so fast that dealers are struggling to keep it in stock, and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV was recently crowned the 100,000th electric vehicle to be sold in the United States.

What’s that? You still think electric vehicles have no shot in the real world? Plenty of drivers disagree, as evidenced by the growing sales numbers every year. In 2011, just 17,500 units were sold, but in 2012, Americans gobbled up 53,000, tripling the previous year’s amount. This year, America is on track to double that amount, reaching over a projected 100,000 EVs. On the market today are fourteen different electric vehicles from nine different automakers, but we expect that number to keep growing as more car brands join the trend.

So the next time someone tries to tell you that electric vehicles are impractical and they’ll never catch on, you can tell them kindly to stick that in their traditional fuel tank and pump it.