You may be surprised to learn that Tesla and its new Model S battery-powered sports sedan is the sales leader in the North American rechargeable car segment this year.
Company spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks told the Detroit News that Tesla expects to report at least 4,750 deliveries of the Model S in the States and Canada when it releases its first-quarter (January through April) on May 8, which compares to 4,421 Chevrolet Volt and 3,695 Nissan Leaf deliveries, according to their respective carmakers.
The Detroit daily asked GM spokesman Jim Cain to comment on the numbers: “Any success for a company in this space is helpful for all other makers of plug-in vehicles,” he said. “The single most important thing we can do for plug-ins, to encourage sales, is to have them on the road.”
The Tesla Model S is far more expensive than the other two plug-in models with a starting price of $69,900, compare to $28,800 for the 2013 Leaf and $39,145 for the Volt, which comes with a hybrid setup using both batteries and a gasoline engine to generate electricity. None of the aforementioned prices include the $7,500 federal tax credit.
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