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Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt have best sales month of 2015

Things are trending upwards for the two best-selling plug-in vehicles in the US. Both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf had their best sales month of 2015 in May, with the Volt selling 1,618 units and the Leaf moving 2,104. The upward swings come at an interesting time, with lots of excess first-gen Volts waiting for buyers and some buyers already ordering their second-gen Volts. So far in 2015, the Leaf has outsold the Volt 7,742 to 4,397. While 7,700 Leafs is respectable, it's nowhere near the numbers that Nissan will have to hit to reach the 50,000 annual sales that CEO Carlos Ghosn says is possible in the US. Still, the Leaf had its best sales month since December 2014 (when it sold 3,102 units) in May, but last month was still down 32.5 percent compared to May 2014. Despite the smaller overall number, May represents a big positive for Chevy, which has seen sluggish sales for the Volt for a long while now. The 1,618 Volts sold last month are only 3.9 percent lower than the 1,684 sold in May 2014 and May 2015 was the best month for Volt sales since August 2014. Perhaps salesmen are ready to make deals, what with thousands sitting around on dealer lots right now. The next-gen Volt is due this fall, and the order books (in California, at least) opened up this week. Like every month, our full wrap-up of green car sales in the US is coming soon (the VW e-Golf, for example, hit a best-ever high of 410 sales). Until then, feel free to discuss the Volt and Leaf sales figures in the Comments. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales

GM might outsource vans to AM General

General Motors will possibly boost production of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon at the Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri by contracting out some commercial van manufacturing to AM General. Demand for the two midsize trucks continues to boom, and GM would like to take advantage of the strong market for them. The possible deal came to light in a letter to workers at the factory, according to Automotive News. "This potential partnership would free up production capacity and allow the organization to capitalize on our ability to build midsize trucks to further satisfy customer demand," a portion of the document allegedly said. AM General would reportedly only take over assembly of the cutaway versions of the Chevy Express and GMC Savana. Customers and critics have quickly embraced the latest Colorado and Canyon since their introduction. The Chevy just won back-to-back Motor Trend Truck of the Year awards. GM also had to add a third shift and extra workers in 2014 just to keep up with demand. The Wentzville plant even increased employment on the weekends earlier in 2015 to assemble an extra 2,000 of the trucks each month. While the two pickups boom, deliveries for the Chevy Express and GMC Savana are down 26.9 percent and 26.6 percent respectively through the first 10 months of the year. GM doesn't break out numbers for the cutaway versions, but they make up about a third of production, according to Automotive News. AM General built the Humvee for the US military and does some contract work with automakers. For example, the company's Indiana factory now produces the Mercedes-Benz R-Class for export to China. Here's hoping this potential deal will help both GM and AM General keep their factories humming. Related Video:

Autoblog Minute: Finalists announced for 2016 Tech of the Year award

Here are the finalists for Autoblog's 2016 Technology of the Year award. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute, with commentary from Autoblog executive producer Adam Morath, AutoblogGreen editor-in-chief Sebastian Blanco, and Autoblog senior editor Alex Kierstein. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] It's Fall here in Detroit and for us that means it's time for football, autumn beers, and the fourth annual Autoblog Tech of the Year awards. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. Tech of the Year is one of our favorite things here at Autoblog. It's a time when we get celebrate all the best tech from the industry we love most. [00:00:30] - [00:01:00] [Commentary form Adam Morath, Sebastian Blanco, Alex Kierstein] Past winners include, Tesla's Supercharger network, FCA's Uconnect system and the BMW i8. In 2016 we're doing something a little different for Tech of the Year. We've separated our award into two categories. One award for best tech car, and a second award for best technology of the year. The nominees for best car in 2016 are: [00:01:30] the Tesla Model S, the Chevrolet Volt, and the BMW 7 series. The nominees for best tech in 2016 are: Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Volkswagen's MiB II with AppConnect, Ford Sync 3, Audi's Virtual Cockpit, the Smart Cross Connect App, and Volvo Sensus. [00:02:00] We're going to announce Autoblog's Tech of the Year winners in January at the 2016 North American International Auto Show, in Detroit. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Green BMW Chevrolet Ford Hummer smart Tesla Volkswagen Volvo Technology Infotainment Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video