LA Times slams hybrid car sales
Insight will lift hybrid salesHybrid car sales go from 60 to 0 at breakneck speed, writes the LATimes this morning.
Hmmm. Buy a Civic hybrid today, or wait a couple of months for a cheaper, cooler Honda Insight hybrid? Or, buy a Toyota Prius today, or wait until a bigger, faster, more fuel efficient Prius becomes available in a couple of months while waiting out a recession?
Certainly, hybrid sales have dropped significantly since this summer, but summer sales were driven by the irrational exuberance created by relatively sudden $4.00 gas. With gas prices cut in half, and consumers facing a recession, one would expect a burst of the hybrid bubble. Nonetheless, gas prices will go back up in the next few years. Thinking otherwise is foolish.
In fact, this morning President Obama called such thinking "irresponsible" while addressing the dangers of foreign oil dependency. And, truthfully, if Americans paid the real cost of oil dependency at the pump, the cost of gas would already be very supportive of significantly higher hybrid sales.
Still, sales of hybrid vehicles will pick up in the next few months, as the two most important cars in the hybrid market come to market. Compare those sales to when gas was $3.00 and I think a far different picture of hybrid sales will emerge.
Labels: honda civic hybrid, honda insight hybrid, hybrid vehicle sales, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:54 AM
4 Comments:
let's not forget the Ford Fusion Hybrid that's coming out now and the Altima hybrid that's been out for a couple years.
today, the Prius is far and away the best selling hybrid, followed by the Camry hybrid. massive swings in hybrid sales, thus, are largely driven by the prius.
no other automaker, until the insight comes out, has tried selling more than 25,000 hybrids per year.
likewise, Ford is only seeking to sell 25,000 Fusion hybrids per year.
but it's good to see the others try (and hopefully succeed). We love(d) our Prii, but are coming to really appreciate the Altima Hybrid we just traded one for, and hoping the Fusion Hybrid on order will earn similar adulation when it arrives... best not to have a monopoly, right?
i love the competition, but i hate the capped production, especially with the Fusion hybrid. i'd just like to see a bigger commitment. i'm not criticizing these cars in any way however.
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