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Nissan Leaf makes it 19 in a row for record sales; Chevy Volt drops 21 percent

The Nissan Leaf continues its streak of "best month ever" sales with 2,881 EVs sold in September. Compared to the 1,953 sold in September 2013, that represents an increase of 47.5 percent and, as Nissan itself must be tired of saying by now, it marks yet another best month ever, same as last month and now the 19th in a row. Okay, sure, we know, Nissan will tout this run for as long as it can, but we're certainly expecting it each month, so if it ever doesn't happen, it'll be interesting to see how Nissan talks about it. Year-to-date, Leaf sales are up 35.7 percent compared to 2013. In any case, Nissan's director of EV marketing, Toby Perry, sent AutoblogGreen a statement that said, "Nissan Leaf owners have turned into some of our best marketers, and they jump at any opportunity to share their enthusiasm with friends and family. Take National Drive Electric Week – a grassroots celebration of all things EV and the perfect platform for LEAF owners to showcase the benefits of going electric. After celebrating with EV owners in more than 130 cities across the country, we saw a significant increase in Leaf showroom visits with midweek traffic just as heavy as what we see on the weekends." Year-to-date, Leaf sales are up 35.7 percent compared to 2013. Over on the Chevy Volt front, things aren't quite as rosy. After coming off a good August (the best sales month of 2014 by almost 500 units), Volt sales were down to 1,394, a decrease of 21.1 percent compared to September 2013. So far this year, Volt sales are down 13.2 percent year-over-year. It's kind of a stretch, but perhaps people are already waiting for the next-gen Volt, which will be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January, to go on sale? Speaking of things we say every month, our in-depth round-up of US green car sales is in process and will be appearing soon. Until then, please discuss how these two long-standing plug-in champs are doing on the sales floor. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales hybrid sales

Huge, pricey trucks haul jobs and profits for the Detroit Three

DECATUR, Texas — Mickey McMaster is on his 12th pickup truck. The 61-year old farm equipment dealer in Decatur, Texas, two weeks ago treated himself to a 2019 GMC Denali for around $69,000 — a reward for long hours at work. "For me this is the Cadillac of trucks, it's a real luxury vehicle," McMaster said. "I've worked my way up to afford a truck like this and it shows that I've earned it." McMaster is the kind of customer General Motors Co is banking on as it plans to add 1,000 jobs at a plant in Flint, Michigan that will build a new generation of its largest pickups. Demand from Texas and other heartland states for big pick-ups is providing a lifeline to many workers the No. 1 U.S. automaker is laying off at plants elsewhere. The Detroit Three automakers and thousands of their U.S. workers are counting on customers like McMaster to keep buying bigger and more luxurious pickup trucks even if overall U.S. vehicle demand weakens this year, as most analysts predict. At Flint, GM will build a new generation of its heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierras, including luxury models that are some of the most profitable vehicles on the planet. GM, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram division own the segment and are each doubling down with new or redesigned models launching this year. Sales of heavy-duty pickups in the United States have grown to more than 600,000 vehicles a year, up more than 20 percent since 2013, according to industry data. Prices for luxury models can easily top $70,000. GM on Tuesday celebrated the launch of a new generation of heavy-duty GMC and Chevrolet pickups at the assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, that is now building all such trucks for the company. At the same time that GM is laying off thousands of U.S. workers and planning to shutter five North American factories, Flint is hiring. The plant runs on three daily shifts, six days a week. As the new model's assembly system ramps up, the plant's capacity will increase by more than 25 percent, plant manager Mike Perez told Reuters. The Flint plant plans to add 1,000 workers, more than half of the 1,500 factory workers who have asked to transfer from plants GM has targeted for shutdown as part of CEO Mary Barra's restructuring plan. "We're bringing in 50 to 100 people every week," said Perez. Workers last week were still finishing the job of retooling the Flint factory to build the new heavy-duty trucks as part of a $1.5 billion investment project.

General Motors CEO Provides Few Details In Appearance Before Congress

It was only two months ago that Mary Barra, freshly crowned as the new General Motors chief executive officer, visited Washington DC as an esteemed guest of First Lady Michelle Obama for the State of the Union address. On Tuesday, Barra returned to the Capitol under more strained circumstances. For more than two contentious hours, she took questions from members of a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating General Motors years-long delay in initiating a recall of millions of vehicles that contained a defect that has killed at least 13 people. Why did GM accept faulty ignition switches that were below the company's set specfications? Why did GM learn about the problem in 2001 yet take no action until 2014? Will GM compensate victims' families even though the company's bankruptcy may limit its liability? Those were a few of the questions members of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee asked. Few concrete answers were forthcoming. For her part, Barra sidestepped most of the questions, saying she wouldn't have information needed to answer them until an internal review is completed. David Friedman, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, testified after Barra. The biggest news that emerged from the hearing was that General Motors has retained attorney Kenneth Feinberg to advise the company on its civil and legal responsibilities. He has made a career of resolving disputes and serving in a 'fixer' role, serving as the chief of the federal government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, as an administrator of compensation fund for victims of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and a similar fund for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Barra, who has been GM's CEO since January but been with the company since 1980, expects to meet with Feinberg on Friday, and have a concrete plan within the next 30-60 days. Yet Barra would not say for certain Tuesday that GM would compensate the victims at all. Despite repeated questions from Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Barra did not outline the company's intentions. "I assume GM is hiring (Feinberg) to help identify the size of claims and then compensate the victims? Is that right," DeGette asked. "Is GM willing to put together some kind of a compensation fund for these victims that Mr. Feinberg will then administer?" "We've hired him to help assess the situation," Barra replied. "So really, there's no money involved at this point," DeGette asked.