Hybrid Car Review

Hybrid car sales took off in July.  Whether it was the Cash for Clunkers (CARs) program or if it was the Prius hitting its stride, the 34,660 units sold was 32.6% better than last July.  Cumulative sales for 2009 are still down 27.8%.  That makes July, 2009 the fifth best sales month for hybrids ever.  Not since May, 2008 have the numbers been this good.

Probably the biggest news is the Prius in its first full month of sales without limited numbers at dealerships.  The third generation Prius sold over 25,000 units in Japan, and over 19,000 units here in the US.  Although overall Toyota sales were down 11% from last July, the Prius has to be a bright spot for them.

Ford sales were also way up, due to traffic from the Cash for Clunkers program (according to Ford).  Fuel efficiency and hybrids were the mainstays for Ford posting a gain in year-to-year sales for the first time in a long time.  Part of that is how badly sales were last July, but not everyone saw a gain (see Toyota), so anything positive for them is good news.

Nissan saw a year on year gain of 44% for the Altima Hybrid.  Limited sales of the Altima Hybrid, available in only eight states, makes it hard to interpret their results.  But it looks like fuel efficiency and the CARS program were a big bonus for Nissan as well.

Monthly Sales			July 2008		July 2009		% Change
Make	Model		N	%	N	%
Ford	Escape/Mariner		1,265	4.8	2,543	7.3	101.0
Ford	Fusion/Milan		0	0.0	2,810	8.1	0.0
GM	Escalade		0	0.0	167	0.5	0.0
GM	Silverado/Sierra		0	0.0	180	0.5	0.0
GM	Tahoe/Yukon		351	1.3	371	1.1	5.7
Honda	Accord		3	0.0	0	0.0	-100.0
Honda	Civic		3,440	13.2	969	2.8	-71.8
Honda	Insight		0	0.0	2,295	6.6	0.0
Nissan	Altima		715	2.7	1,030	3.0	44.1
Toyota	Camry		2,645	10.1	2,509	7.2	-5.1
Toyota	GS 450h		40	0.2	45	0.1	12.5
Toyota	Highlander		1,371	5.2	1,171	3.4	-14.6
Toyota	LS600hL		83	0.3	28	0.1	-66.3
Toyota	Prius		14,785	56.6	19,173	55.3	29.7
Toyota	RX 400h		1,439	5.5	1,369	3.9	-4.9
Total			26,137		34,660		32.6
Cumulative Sales			Cumulative 2008		Cumulative 2009		% Change
Make	Model		N	%	N	%
Ford	Escape/Mariner		13,965	6.4	10,434	6.7	-25.3
Ford	Fusion/Milan		2,810	1.3	8,749	5.6	211.4
GM	Escalade		167	0.1	1,007	0.6	503.0
GM	Silverado/Sierra		180	0.1	650	0.4	261.1
GM	Tahoe/Yukon		1,507	0.7	3,082	2.0	104.5
Honda	Accord		191	0.1	1	0.0	-99.5
Honda	Civic		20,001	9.2	13,297	8.5	-33.5
Honda	Insight		2,295	1.1	9,819	6.3	327.8
Nissan	Altima		6,605	3.0	4,204	2.7	-36.4
Toyota	Camry		33,041	15.2	15,516	9.9	-53.0
Toyota	GS 450h		504	0.2	253	0.2	-49.8
Toyota	Highlander		14,224	6.5	7,530	4.8	-47.1
Toyota	LS600hL		665	0.3	185	0.1	-72.2
Toyota	Prius		110,615	50.9	74,924	47.8	-32.3
Toyota	RX 400h		10,407	4.8	7,167	4.6	-31.1
Total			217,177		156,818		-27.8

Honda may be the biggest disappointment, as they continue to divert production to Japan for the new Insight.  The Civic Hybrid sales were down 71.8%.  It seems like the Honda Insight is not competing well against the Prius, but is competing well against its cousin the Civic. 

GM saw good gains this month, with the Tahoe/Yukon up 5.7%, while the Sierra/Silverado and Escalade had decent numbers (for them).  Although limited in sales, these hybrid SUVs and trucks may be considered luxury vehicles, putting them in a different class for what is good sales figures.