Hybrid Car Review

Hybrid car sales were up 5.4% for the month of February, which would seem to indicate a good month and is also indicative of an overall recovery in the car market.  But individual model sales are more of a mixed bag.  Some were up, some were down, and the overall increase does not seem to reflect a lot of what might be expected.

Also, keep in mind that hybrid car sales were down by 30% in February, 2009 compared to February 2008.  The recession was in full force and overall light duty car sales were down by 40% (which means hybrids were a bright spot even if they were down 30%).  So, a 5 percent gain this month is nice, but not exactly the best they could be.

Monthly Sales		February 2009		February 2010		% Change
Make	Model	N	%	N	%
Ford	Escape/Mariner	1,294	8.3	782	4.8	-39.6
Ford	Fusion/Milan	0	0.0	1,317	8.0	0.0
GM	Escalade	0	0.0	146	0.9	0.0
GM	Silverado/Sierra	47	0.3	106	0.6	125.5
GM	Tahoe/Yukon	632	4.0	169	1.0	-73.3
Honda	Accord	0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0
Honda	Civic	1,362	8.7	346	2.1	-74.6
Honda	Insight	0	0.0	2,014	12.2	0.0
Nissan	Altima	463	3.0	619	3.8	33.7
Toyota	Camry	2,080	13.3	1,011	6.1	-51.4
Toyota	GS 450h	22	0.1	22	0.1	0.0
Toyota	HS 250h	0	0.0	712	4.3	0.0
Toyota	Highlander	956	6.1	339	2.1	-64.5
Toyota	LS600hL	22	0.1	15	0.1	-31.8
Toyota	Prius	7,232	46.3	7,968	48.4	10.2
Toyota	RX 400h	1,502	9.6	890	5.4	-40.7
Total		15,612		16,456		5.4
Cumulative Sales		Cumulative 2009		Cumulative 2010		% Change
Make	Model	N	%	N	%
Ford	Escape/Mariner	2,174	7.1	1,497	4.5	-31.1
Ford	Fusion/Milan	0	0.0	2,469	7.4	0.0
GM	Escalade	132	0.4	198	0.6	50.0
GM	Silverado/Sierra	54	0.2	203	0.6	275.9
GM	Tahoe/Yukon	1,099	3.6	395	1.2	-64.1
Honda	Accord	1	0.0	0	0.0	-100.0
Honda	Civic	2,438	7.9	599	1.8	-75.4
Honda	Insight	0	0.0	3,321	9.9	0.0
Nissan	Altima	1,107	3.6	1,678	5.0	51.6
Toyota	Camry	3,221	10.5	1,878	5.6	-41.7
Toyota	GS 450h	63	0.2	63	0.2	0.0
Toyota	HS 250h	0	0.0	1,959	5.8	0.0
Toyota	Highlander	1,940	6.3	865	2.6	-55.4
Toyota	LS600hL	55	0.2	24	0.1	-56.4
Toyota	Prius	15,353	50.0	16,452	49.1	7.2
Toyota	RX 400h	3,058	10.0	1,906	5.7	-37.7
Total		30,695		33,507		9.2

Some assumptions you might make about hybrid sales this month just don't seem to be panning out.  For instance, the Toyota recalls should be affecting sales, especially with the Prius which is one of the models involved.  Although overall Toyota/Lexus hybrid car sales were down by 7.3% as Toyota overall light duty sales were way down this month, the Prius remains unaffected, however.  Prius sales were up by 10%, as heavy incentives, plus a waiting list on the Prius and an artificial limit on the numbers being imported right now have kept the pressure up. 

Japanese Prius sales are still sky high, with a six month waiting list on the Prius.  That means Toyota is not shipping as many Prius to the US.  That means there are still people who are having to wait for the Prius they ordered.  It's unclear if Toyota can keep that up in the coming months, but they are continuing to offer incentives on hybrids in February.

Also keep in mind that four new models are keeping things up, since they weren't being sold last February.  The Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids launched in March, so we'll have a better idea next month of how well they are doing.

Overall, Ford, Honda and Nissan were up from last year, which may indicate they were able to take advantage of the bad news surrounding Toyota.  Also, the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid was up 125% with big rebates being offered. 

Related:
Hybrid Car Sales, February 2009
Hybrid Car Sales, January 2010