Comments on: December 2008 Dashboard: The Key Is Production Numbers

By: david mausolf

david mausolf — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:49:20 +0000

Could we get more detailed information on sales by county state-by-state. I could see charging money for that information. Saying Florida is #4 in sales, does not help unless I know which market have the highest density.

By: Burnsville JPW

Burnsville JPW — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:44:50 +0000

The hybrids-per-1000-residents is really a nice stat, as it lets states compete on even terms, but I alsor would really like to also see a listing of how states stack up on the % of total car sales that hybrids represent, i.e., how big is the hybrid piece of the sales pie.

By: crookmatt

crookmatt — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:09:54 +0000

It's clear that the longterm trend is up, slow economics and low gas prices have temporarioy slowed hybrid sales.

Think of it this way. The last time gas prices were as low as they are today was in 2003. That year there were less than 60,000 hybrid sales in the US. So even though gas prices are just as low as 2003, there were still 300,000 hybrids sold this year and over 17,000 just in the month of December (which was the slowest month all year -- still outpacing the last time gas was this low)

Additionally, consider that hybrid car owners are over 90% likely to purchase another hybrid after they are finished with their current one and sales should continue in the upward direction long term.

By: Collin Burnell

Collin Burnell — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Were there no sales of the Mazda Tribute Hybrid?

By: Bryce

Bryce — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:07:00 +0000

On a market note, the Chevy Tahoe is now outselling the Toyota highlander. People to have made market share gains seem to be GM and Nissan. Losses going to the folks at Ford and Honda. Toyota so far has held their hybrid ground despite this recent barrage of new models. People making gains in the market in general seems to be GM having all of its models with month on month growth basically all year. Not bad considering the Carpocalypse and limited production numbers due to battery shortages. Toyotas luxury SUV hybrid is also selling well, even better than their non-luxury model, the Highlander, oddly enough. The Nissan Altima also did nicely for itself I would have to say. It should be interesting this coming year to watch the new models come into play. (The Insight, the Fusion, the SIlverado/Sienna, and the 2-mode Vue) All interesting cars that should probably represent well for their makers.

I look forward to this coming year and the surprises that are likely to come along with it.

By: K. Kenneth Cooper

K. Kenneth Cooper — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:24:50 +0000

Once companies like Plug In Hybrid (www.pihybrid.com) in San Diego and REV Technologies Inc (www.rapidelectricvehicles.com) start making an impact on their conversions from gas guzzler to electric hybrids, there should be a dashboard that shows the numbers of conversions. It is companies like these that are going to make a difference, not the vision-less Detroit automakers who have fumbled the ball once again (and over the past 3 decades) while the Japanese and now the entrepreneurs of the country make their presence known and pick up market share. But I guess looking on the bright side, had Detroit not fumbled – there wouldn’t be an opportunity for these type of companies to pick up the ball and run with it.

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:19:52 +0000

Anybody up for a 2009 Hybrid sales WAG?

Here is my guess:

Model 2008 2009 Guess
Prius 158884 150940
Camry 46272 34102
Highlander 19391 19391
RX400/450h 15200 15200
LS600hL 980 980
GS450h 678 678
Civic 31297 9389
Escape 17193 17193
Mariner 2329 2329
Yukon 2356 2356
Malibu 2388 2388
Vue 3067 3067
Tahoe 4088 4088
Aura 286 572
Altima 8819 6500
Escalade 801 801
Aspen* 46 0
Fusion/Milan n/a 19998
Insight n/a 37796