Whose buying Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf?
Tom Gorham
Internet Sales & Marketing Manager
Apple Chevrolet
August 19, 2011
“During the first 6 months of 2011, buyers or lessees of the new Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) tended to be slightly older and more often male than buyers of the Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle (BEV)” according to J.D. Power and Associates. (Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf Buyer Profiles Differ Slightly, August 12, 2011.
Electric cars head-to-head - Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf
Furthermore the global automotive blog stated that the Leaf attracted slightly more females (24.3%) than the Volt (17.4) and tended to be slightly younger (average age 51) than the Volt (average age 52). These are not numbers I would consider especially significant.
It also seems that many Volt and Leaf buyers were purchasing these vehicles as second or third cars. This can be surmised by the lower number of trade-ins than the industry average.
The Nissan Leaf has outsold the Volt by approximately 1,100 vehicles so far this year. Both vehicles were introduced in December 2010 but Chevrolet has only gradually ramped up production of the Volt until now. Chevy recently increased its production capabilities of the Volt and more dealers will begin receiving the electric vehicle in the Fall.
It looks that it will be an interesting head to head competition between the two vehicles. You can read another article I wrote about these two cars, Volt vs. Leaf and Range Anxiety – Is It Real? , AppleChevy Blog, Aug 3, 2011. Or you can test drive the Volt at Apple Chevrolet in Tinley Park, IL. (View Map)
To read the article in J.D. Powers, click here – http://www.jdpowercontent.com/globalauto/chevrolet-volt-nissan-leaf-buyer-profiles-differ-slightly/2011/08/12/
