2016 Tesla Model X

2016 Tesla Model X

The second-generation Chevy Volt set a single-month Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales record in July with 385 sales, the equivalent of about 3500 sales in the American market.

That's more than August 2013, the Volt's best-ever month in the United States, when dealerships moved 3,351 units.

With this achievement, the Volt not only surpassed its 320 sales in June, but outpaced the previous single-month record of 325 Tesla Model Ses sold in March.

DON'T MISS: U.S. Plug-in electric car sales in July: Volt passes 100,000 with strong numbers

Canada's five best single-vehicle single-month plug-in electric vehicle sales totals have now come in the past five months.

That's helped the country's plug-in market share to rise from 0.37 percent last year to 0.45 percent during the first half of 2016.

Modest as the difference may seem, it still represents an increase of 20 percent year over year.

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, July 2016

Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, July 2016

Nissan sold 152 Leafs in July, up from 123 in June and matching its best-ever month in March, while Mitsubishi sold 7 i-MiEVs.

As usual, Ford refuses to provide C-Max Energi and Ford Fusion Energi sales. 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."

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Registration roundup for June

Vehicle registration data confirmed that June was the first month in which Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales exceeded 1,000. The final numbers came in slightly over 1,100.

In large part, the Tesla Model S did the heavy lifting, with 167 sales—along with the very first deliveries of the new-to-Canada Model X crossover utility vehicle, with 156 units.

While the Model X set a new record for the strongest first-month debut for an electric vehicle in Canada, it wasn't by much: 143 Chevy Volts were sold in that car's first month of availability, back in September 2011.

2017 Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine with Polestar Performance Optimization

2017 Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine with Polestar Performance Optimization

Tesla fans will note that the combined 323 Model S and Model X sales in June were slightly higher than the Volt's 320 units. Adding the month's nine Spark EV sales, however, puts Chevrolet back on top at 329 units.

The 167 Model S sales in June were Tesla's lowest in a quarter-ending month since December 2014, perhaps reflecting the availability of the new Model X.

The Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid sold 55 units in July, down slightly from 58 in June. It continues to see significant sales in Alberta, the prairie province with oil sands and without plug-in electric vehicle incentives.

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BMW sold 30 X5 plug-in hybrids, alongside 28 i3 and 11 i8 sales. Rival Audi sold 41 A3 e-Trons, while Porsche sold 21 Cayenne S E-Hybrids and 3 more Panamera S E-Hybrids.

Kia is rumored to be providing incentives to sales staff who sell the Soul EV in Canada's three "rebate provinces" of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Whether that's the case or not, it sold an impressive 67 units of its all-electric tall wagon in June.

Kia Soul EV at Granville Island, British Columbia, Canada

Kia Soul EV at Granville Island, British Columbia, Canada

A total of 674 have been sold in Canada over the first six months of this year, letting the Soul EV overtake the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which had 672 Canadian sales by that point.

At its current pace, the Soul EV could overtake the BMW i3 by year's end, becoming Canada's fifth highest-selling plug-in electric vehicle behind the Volt, Leaf, Model S and Smart Electric Drive. (If it doesn't itself get overtaken by the Model X, this is.)

Daimler, meanwhile, sold another Smart Electric Drive in June, and two Mercedes S550e plug-in hybrids. Meanwhile, Ford sold 14 Focus Electrics in June, and as noted, nine more Chevrolet Spark EVs were registered.

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