Chevrolet Volt handily outselling Nissan LEAF in Canada

The sales race between the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan LEAF is a peculiar one, particularly given the fact that both are low volume models that appeal to a small sliver of the new car market. But since they both appeal to the greenest of buyers comparisons between the two are inevitable.

In the U.S., LEAF sales have topped Volt sales year-to-date by a significant margin (8,720 to 6,142, respectively) but in Canada it's a different story.

Chevy dealers across Canada have moved 243 Volts over the curb so far this year, compared to 111 LEAFs. Neither vehicle is widely available across the country due to tight supply. In fact, the LEAF is only sold through 27 "LEAF Certified Dealers" and even then only to people who live within a 65km radius of one of the those dealers.

But lets face it, we're talking about the tallest midget here. Neither car was ever expected to light the sales charts on fire. Rather they build the green-cred of each brand and encourage showroom traffic.

But if you had to pick one, which would it be?

[Source: Automotive News Data Center]

Comments

[Mark Stevenson]

When looking at just the numbers, yes, the Chevy Volt outsold the LEAF. But, you need to look deeper than that in order to get the real picture.

Nissan has held back LEAF stock in Canada since it was introduced. Only 40 2011 MY Nissan LEAFs were brought to Canada. Those sold out within minutes. Nissan now has a first allotment of 350 units of 2012 MY LEAFs available in Canada of which 71 have already been sold.

All those sales were done under the restriction that someone register on the LEAF website. Now that sales are open to all and more stock is available, expect sales to go up.

This has very little to do with what Canadians want to buy and more about what automakers/dealers have to offer.

[Me2]

The Chevy volt could be your only car, using electric power for your daily commute and yet still be able to take you across the country for your family vacation without the fear of leaving you stranded. The leaf on the other hand, is a less expensive alternative with limited range that is intended mainly for short travel. These are two vehicles with two drastically different levels of technology and two totally different propulsion systems sold at two different price ranges. Apples and oranges really.

[me]

Yes but the Volt does not look like your electric car, it has nice well car like looks, that are nice to look at and as far as the others go they look and feel like crap, I don't know why they can't do what Chev did and make them look like a car and not some freak of nature,or a space creature here to invade the planet. For me I would pick the Volt based on the fact that it is a real dual purpose vehicle,and that you can bring more than one person with you,and can haul the groceries home, and look good in the driveway.

[Mark Stevenson]

Have you seen and been inside the Volt in person? Have you been inside the LEAF in person? Regardless of what you think of the interior design, the LEAF drives so much better than the Volt. Also, the interior materials are lightyears better. The Nissan navigation system is one of the prettiest bit of electronic equipment I have seen in a really long time.

[houstondav]

@me2, Really! take the Family on a cross country vacation in a small 4 seater with small cargo space. I would much rather rent a larger car (SUV or Van) or better yet fly across country and it would be paid for by all the money saved from not using gas which in my case was 100 gallons of gas per month (in a xterra ~14-18 mpg) on average of driving 1600 miles per month in my leaf. Savings dependent on varing price of gas x 100.

[Me2]

houstondav: I was simply stating how and why these vehicles are so different from one another and that a sales comparison is irrelevant. I personally would not own either one of them. Sorry I didn't mean to upset you!

[Mark Stevenson]

I think comparing these vehicles is valid. People will cross shop the Volt and the LEAF. Just like people will cross shop a Mustang and a Genesis Coupe. Sure, the Genesis Coupe doesn't have an available V8, but they are aimed at the same demographic.

Now, do I think making any kind of judgements/predictions based purely on the sales numbers is a smart thing to do? Not at all. You have to look at the big picture in this situation. The reason why the Volt has outsold the LEAF in Canada so far is due to Nissan restricting inventory.

Case closed.

[cosmic mariner]

I dream of just saying no to benzene, so the Nissan LEAF is the clear winner to me.

[RV Traders]

Actually we cannot make the comparison of both the vehicle Nissan Leaf and chevrolet Volt both the vehicles are delivering good performance, the competition among them is very tough If you suggest me to pick one vehicle i would have picked Chevrolet Volt, Because Chevrolet Volt is a very nice car, it has good and excellent features, its design is so awesome that can attract the buyers. Seats of this car is so adjustable it can provide comfort and safety to driver while driver so that driver who is driving this car would have good experience of driving this car and also it deliver high performance and has good Chevy engine..I am very excited and eagerly waiting to see that who will win the sale race between Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt.
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[me]

Well Mark I am going to argue with you I have seen a leaf and the only thing it's good for is wiping your butt, I have owned a Nissan before and swore I would never own another one again and if I could get other people too see that my job is done , with Nissans attitude towards it's customers and treating them like CRAP in this day and age is beyond me, when you spend 70g on an suv and within 10k there is a problem with the leather in the seats,the vehicle hiccups and almost stalls on the highway at speed, all the brakes wear out with 12k and all I get is and I quote " It's a wear issue don't bother us with this" and when it sits a the dealership for days at a time WAITING for parts,and I need a vehicle to use I get told I have to pay for it when its not even 6months old give me a break, I got rid of it quick, bought a Chev and I tell you what a difference in attitude my dealership is 20 mins away they have a car ready for me , wash my truck when its done, clean out the inside, I can't ask for anything more,so I also bought a Lacrosse with service like that.

[Harish cena]

Actually we cannot make the comparison of both the vehicle Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt both the vehicles are delivering good performance, the competition among them is very tough If you suggest me to pick one vehicle i would have picked Chevrolet Volt, Because Chevrolet Volt is a very nice car, it has good and excellent features, its design is so awesome that can attract the buyers. Seats of this car is so adjustable it can provide comfort and safety to driver while driver so that driver who is driving this car would have good experience of driving this car and also it deliver high performance and has good Chevy engine. According to me, Both Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volts are outstanding and out selling Vehicles. I am eagerly waiting for this car to come in the market.
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