August 2014 Electric Vehicle Sales Running Out Of Juice

Detroit September 4, 2014; The Wall Street Journal reported that automakers' efforts to put more electric vehicles on the road appears to be shorting out.

Despite a booming U.S. auto market, sales of electric and hybrid cars have stalled this year, capturing 3.6 percent of the market through August, slightly down from last year's 3.7 percent share, says research firm Edmunds.com.

The leveling off comes as surprise. Many auto industry executives and analysts predicted that hybrid and electric car sales would continue to grow incrementally as carmakers expanded new offerings and public awareness increased.

In 2011, the Obama administration put forth the lofty goal of putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Last year, a total of 581,240 electric and hybrid cars were sold in the U.S., said Edmunds.com.

"As the summer months wind down, we're approaching the time of the year when sales of these vehicles tend to be slower, so a late-year surge isn't very likely," said Jessica Caldwell, an Edmunds.com analyst. For many major carmakers, sales volumes are declining as gas prices stabilize and more U.S. buyers return to buying large cars and sport-utility vehicles.