Volt sales surged to 1,760 units last month, marking better than a 300 percent increase over June 2011. That strong month lifted the Volt to 8,817 first half sales, an improvement of 221 percent over the same period last year.
Although the Leaf's stagnant sales could indicate that demand for the pure electric has dried up, the Japanese automaker says the sales drop is the result of a shift in its sales strategy.
"On March 1 we went to a more a traditional dealer model. In doing that we miscalculated the marketing that had to go behind it," Al Castignetti, vice president of Nissan's North American sales, told Bloomberg.
Nissan was previously selling Leafs to customers on a waiting list rather than directly off dealer lots.
Despite the drop off, Nissan plans to double U.S. Leaf sales once production starts at the automaker's Smyrna, Tennessee plant.
