Overall sales of alternative-fueled vehicles in the U.S. in 2015 slipped by 13 percent, to 654,442 from 751,613 in 2014.
The bright spot in the alternative-fueled field was the total sales of battery-electric models, which increased 6.6 percent for the year, from 67,851 in 2014 to 72,303 the past year.
Tesla Model S appeared to lead the all-electrics with estimated sales of 26,400, followed by Nissan Leaf 17,269; BMW i3 11,024; Fiat 500e 4,516; Volkswagen e-Golf 4,232; Chevrolet Spark 2,629; Mercedes B-Class Electric 1,906; Ford Focus EV 1,582; Smart forTwo EV 1,387 and Kia Soul EV 1,015. Only four other models registered sales.
Runaway winners in other alternative markets were the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup in light-duty diesels and the Toyota Prius Liftback in gasoline/electric hybrids.
The Ram offers an optional 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel built by VM Motori of Cento, Italy, developing 240 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque.
Ram’s onetime closest competitors, the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat TDI-diesel-equipped sedans, were shut down in sales in early fall over violation of emissions regulations.
The Ram EcoDiesel’s sales of 57,210 last year were followed by VW Passat TDI sales of 16,845; VW Jetta 16,175; Golf Sportwagen 8,886; Golf 7,149; BMW X5 diesel 5,121; Audi Q5 4,393; Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel 3,790; Porsche Cayenne 3,585 and Audi Q7 3,579. Sixteen other models registered diesel sales during the year, including the Chevy Cruze, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover vehicles.
The light-duty diesel sales are not to be confused with the sales of Cummins, Powerstroke and Duramax heavy-duty diesels; three-quarter and one-ton trucks of Ford, Chevy (GMC) and Ram stage their own competitive sales race in that bigger category.
Sales of gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles in 2015 slumped to 384,404 from 452,152 the previous year.
Almost 30 percent of the sales were by the Toyota Prius Liftback (113,829), which has dominated alternative-fueled sales since it was introduced 15 years ago. Others in the hybrid top 10 were Toyota Prius C with 38,484; Toyota Camry Hybrid 30,640; Toyota Prius V 28,290; Ford Fusion 24,681; Hyundai Sonata 19,908; Lexus CT200h 14,657; Ford C-Max Hybrid 14,177; Toyota Avalon 11,956 and Kia Optima 11,492. More than 30 other hybrid models are on the market.
Plug-in hybrid sales also slumped sharply in 2015, dropping to 42,959 from 55,357 in 2014.
The top 10 in plug-in hybrid totals are Chevrolet Volt with 15,393; Ford Fusion Energi 9,750; Ford C-Max Energi 7,591; Toyota Prius plug-in 4,191; BMW i8 2,265; Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 1,163;; Cadillac ELR 1,024; BMW X5 892; Porsche Panera S E-Hybrid 407 and Mercedes S550 plug-in 118.