2017 Chevrolet Volt

2017 Chevrolet Volt

Paced by the Chevrolet Volt, Canada may have had its first-ever month in which  1,000 plug-in electric vehicle were sold.

Volt sales continued to soar in Canada during June, with GM's electric flagship topping 300 for the first time.

Factoring in population ratios, this would be roughly equivalent to a 3,000-sale month in the United States, a feat the Volt has only once managed (in June 2013).

DON'T MISS: U.S. Plug-In Electric Car Sales for June: more of the same

The Volt's 320 sales fell just short of the Canadian single-month plug-in electric vehicle sales record of 325, set by the Tesla Model S in March.

Given that Tesla reported softer-than-expected deliveries in Q2, the Volt looks poised to take the June sales crown.  

If confirmed by the vehicle registration data, this would be the first quarter-ending month since June 2014 that the Model S didn't outsell its competition.

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, June 2016

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, June 2016

Thanks in part to its end-of-quarter surges, the Model S owned three of Canada's four highest single-month plug-in electric vehicle sales tallies, as of March.

But with the Volt's three strong months in Q2 -- Chevy sold 260 in April and 270 in May -- there's been a volte-face at the top of the sales charts, and it's now the Volt which owns three of the top four.

Nissan sold 123 Leafs in June, about even with May's 121, and in line with its four-month average (494 cars in 4 months equates to 123.5 per month).

ALSO SEE: Electric cars a key part of climate-action plans in Ontario, Quebec

Mitsubishi—in which Nissan plans to take a 34 percent stake—sold 8 i-MiEVs and Cadillac sold another 2 ELRs.

GreenCarReports offers its monthly regrets that Ford C-Max Energi and Ford Fusion Energi sales are no longer provided. As conveyed by a Ford representative:

"I have looked into this and unfortunately we are not inclined to provide this level of detail for Canada. The numbers are very small, as you might imagine."

Tesla Model S at Cypress Mountain, British Columbia, Canada

Tesla Model S at Cypress Mountain, British Columbia, Canada

Canada's best-ever electric vehicle sales month came in March, when 957 plug-ins were purchased, representing 0.55 percent of auto sales.

Sales in June were about 10 percent higher than those in March, so even if electric-car market share drops slightly, plug-in proponents stand a good chance of celebrating their first four-digit sales month.  

Previous-month registrations: May

Tesla sold a modest 69 Model S luxury electric cars in Canada during May, down from 110 in April.

CHECK OUT: Electric cars in Canada: 6 good-news events for buyers, drivers

No Model Xes have appeared in vehicle registration data, though that's anticipated when the June registration data arrives.

Moving on to other luxury plug-in SUVs, Volvo sold 58 XC90 PHEVs in May, down slightly from 69 sales in April—but representing almost one-quarter of all XC90 sales in Canada.

BMW sold 25 X5 plug-in hybrids, down from 42 in May, and representing about 3 percent.

Kia Soul EV at Granville Island, British Columbia, Canada

Kia Soul EV at Granville Island, British Columbia, Canada

Porsche sold 2 Panamera S-E Hybrids, the same as in April, and 17 Cayenne S-E Hybrids, down from 21.

Audi's 40 A3 e-trons represented about 10 percent of sales. BMW's i3 and i8 earned 30 and 19 sales, respectively.

The Kia Soul EV followed April's 65 sales with a 56 sale performance in May, while Ford sold 7 Focus Electrics and Chevy moved another 2 Spark EVs into customers' driveways.

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