High gas prices + government incentives = more fuel efficient sales? Seems so, as the Detroit News reports that hybrid and electric car sales rose 37% from the same time last year, twice as fast as the rest of the market.
No doubt that the auto industry is on an impressive rebound, and hybrid sales are racking up big dividends as gas prices continue to climb. Naturally, Toyota was the hybrid leader, with 37% more gas-electric sales over last year, and a 52% increase in Prius sales (though I wonder if that has anything to do with a rush to buy hybrids before supply interruptions from the earthquake/tsunami hit.) Toyota sold over 54,600 hybrids, far and away the leader, while Honda moved 84% more hybrids, or 11,354 hybrids from dealer lots, with Ford came in a distant third, with a 9% hybrid sale increase, sell over 7,700 “advanced technology vehicles.”
While the rest of the auto industry made a substantial 20% gain over last year, hybrids were definitely at the forefront of sale increases, though hybrid sales still only made up about 2.6% of total first-quarter sales of 3.1 million vehicles. For comparisions sake, Ford sold almost as many F-150’s in the month of March (53,727) as Toyota sold hybrids in the whole first quarter. We’ll see what happens as people settle into the idea of paying $4 a gallon for gas…
Source: The Detroit News
Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.