2012
The European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera, was released to customers in Europe in February 2012. Opel reported that most of the Ampera clients are fleet or business customers. Deliveries of the right-hand drive Vauxhall Ampera in the UK began in May 2012. As of October 2012, more than 33,000 units of the Volt/Ampera family have been sold worldwide. The United States is the world's top selling market with 19,309 Volts sold during the first ten months of 2012, and cumulative sales of 27,306 units since December 2010. The second best selling market is the Netherlands with 2,175 Amperas and 241 Volts sold through October 2012. Canada ranks third with 1,075 Volts sold during 2012 and cumulative sales of 1,350 units between September 2011 and October 2012, followed by Germany with 1,012 Amperas and 48 Volts registered through October 2012.
The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid was released in Japan in January 2012, followed by the United States in February 2012, and Europe in June 2012. As of 31 October 2012 (2012 -10-31), a total of 21,600 Prius PHVs have been sold worldwide, with 9,623 units sold in the United States through October 2012, followed by Japan with 9,500 units sold through October 2012, and 1,867 units sold in Europe through September 2012.
In April 2012 BYD Auto announced that due to its low sales, the F3DM will be replaced by the BYD Qin (pronounced “Chin”) plug-in hybrid, which was unveiled at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.
A two-year demonstration program with 25 Chrysler Town & Country E85 flexible-fuel plug-in minivans began in April 2012. The first units were delivered in Auburn Hills, Michigan and Charlotte, North Carolina. The demonstration program was halted in September 2012, and Chrysler recalled the 23 units deployed at the time due to damage sustained by three separate Dodge Ram 1500 Plug-in Hybrids participating in a parallel program when their battery packs overheated. The carmaker plans to upgrade the battery packs shared by both vehicles with cells that use a different lithium-ion chemistry before the vehicles go back on service. No minivans were involved in any incidents.
Fisker Automotive reported that around 1,500 units have been delivered in the U.S. and Europe by September 2012. The Netherlands, with 138 units sold through October 2012, is the top selling European market for the Karma.
Sales of plug-in hybrid cars in the Netherlands during 2012 have been notable, as PHEV sales took the lead over all-electric cars during the first nine months of 2012. In addition to the Opel Ampera ranking as the best selling electric-drive car with 1,927 units sold during 2012, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid ranks second, with 610 units sold between June and September 2012, and the Chevrolet Volt ranks third with 205 units sold during the first months of the year. Adding 134 Fisker Karmas sold during 2012, the group of plug-in hybrid cars leads the Dutch market with 2,876 units sold during the first nine months of 2012, representing more than 80% of passenger EV sales in the country during this period. As of September 2012, the Nissan Leaf was the top selling all-electric car in the country, with 163 units sold during the year, and a total of 457 units sold in the Netherlands since their introduction in mid 2011.
Deliveries of the Ford C-Max Energi began in the U.S. by mid October 2012. The C-Max Energi has an all-electric range of 21 mi (34 km) and an EPA rating for combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode of 100 MPG-e (2.4 L/100 km). The Energi combined rating is 5 MPG-e better than the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in, and 2 MPG-e better than the 2013 Chevrolet Volt, allowing the C-Max Energi to become America’s most fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid in all-electric mode. The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid, the world's first diesel plug-in hybrid, was released in Sweden by late 2012. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the rest of Europe in early 2013.
Read more about this topic: History Of Plug-in Hybrids