When the electrified Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf hit the market, it was with big hype yet small sales. By contrast, the new Prius Plug-in hybrid quietly started arriving at Toyota dealerships a few months ago, and it is already moving more units than its fellow cord-compatible competitors. Last month, Toyota’s plug-in addition to the Prius family sold more than both the plug-in hybrid Volt and the all-electric Leaf in the United States, helping to cement the Prius nameplate as a dominant force in the green-vehicle market.

According to PluginCars.com, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in sold 1,654 units in April, compared to the Chevy Volt’s 1,462 units and the Leaf’s sparse 370 units. The Prius Plug-in’s performance bolstered the best-ever April for the Prius family, which more than doubled its sales year-over-year to become the third-most-popular passenger car on the market last month.

“It shows the strength of the Prius name when a plug-in model can arrive pretty much under the radar and outsell competing models that have had so much publicity behind them,” said Wade Sterry, general manager of Russel Toyota, a Baltimore, Maryland Toyota dealer. “The Prius Plug-in also offers a smaller, less expensive battery than the Leaf and Volt, so recharging takes less time. It allows its owners to benefit from electricity without having to be fully dependent on a charging station.”

via Toyota Prius PHV Sales Surpass Chevy Volt in April 2012: #evworld.