Sales of gas-electric cars jumped nearly 20 percent in May, compared to last month, outpacing the overall vehicle market that increased by 12.3 percent. Sales of the 2010 Toyota Prius, which continues to make up half of all hybrid purchases, increased by 13.5 percent to 14,248 units—despite a relatively poor showing by the entire Toyota brand. Industry observers believe that Toyota has yet to overcome negative publicity from safety recalls earlier this years, yet car shoppers are apparently excusing the Toyota Prius from those quality concerns.
Sales of the Ford Fusion Hybrid accelerated by a whopping 64 percent to 2,486 units. Ford also added nearly 25 percent more sales of the Ford Escape Hybrid. At this point, Ford has decisively leapfrogged Honda to become the number two seller of hybrid cars. Toyota owns 68 percent of the hybrid market; Ford holds 14 percent; and Honda has dropped to nearly 9 percent of hybrid car sales. The upcoming Honda CR-Z hybrid might help the company regain the second place spot—and Honda executives are promising a clean-slate approach for future hybrids.
Sales of the Altima hybrid, which is only available in eight states, soared by 253 percent. It’s unclear if publicity about the company’s all-electric Nissan Leaf helped raise the green perception of the entire Nissan brand.
BMW shipped the first 7 units of its $103,000 ActiveHybrid 7. Those units, combined with 12 reported sales of the BMW X6, reveal the company’s half-hearted efforts with hybrids. General Motors and Mercedes haven’t fared much better.
Clean diesel sales were up by 8.4 percent to 6,961 units in May compared to last month. Volkswagen continues to dominate clean diesel sales with nearly 80 percent of the market, led by the Jetta TDI, which single-handedly is responsible for 62 percent of all clean diesel purchases.
Despite the rebound in May, hybrid gas-electric cars continue to lag behind the overall market in year-to-date sales, with an 8.5 percent increase so far in 2010 over last year—compared to a 17.2 percent increase in the overall market. That’s not a big surprise, considering that average U.S. gas prices are about 20 cents lower than this time last year. Public outrage over the Gulf oil spill has created a latent demand for fuel-efficient or petroleum-free alternatives—but as long as gas is cheap, sales of hybrids, clean diesel and upcoming plug-in cars will be dampened. If and when gas prices start to climb, Toyota and Ford will be well positioned with hybrids, and Volkswagen with clean diesel vehicles.
After you read this article, you may read my other articles such as: Daimler Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 2011 Mini Cooper, Hybrid Car Pros and Cons, 2011 Lexus CT 200h, Audi Q7, Chevy Hybrid Truck, Chevrolet Aveo, BMW X6, Hybrid Gasoline Electric, Hybrid Cars History, Infiniti M35, 2011 Lexus LS 600h, and 2011 BMW 5 Series Hybrid.
Read more at http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrid-clean-diesel-sales-dashboard/may-2010.html
