Leading the charge

The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are the vanguard of a wave of plug-in electric vehicles coming to market over the next several years. Early next year will see the arrival of the Plug-in Prius and the Ford Fusion Electric and then there is the recently announce all-electric 2013 Chevy Spark. See related article: EVs meet the 'real car' test with ease.

How are the sales of the Volt and Leaf? So far, the two companies have sold less than 10,000 units, but executives from GM and Nissan expect to sell out the first two years of production. The question the industry is facing is whether and when a broader set of drivers will start to buy plug-in vehicles beyond early adopters.