January 2009 Dashboard: Hybrid Pickups Arrive

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The entire auto market continued to slide, bringing hybrid sales along with it. But there's good news: General Motors began shipping full-hybrid pickup trucks, opening up the hybrid market to a new pool of buyers.

Hybrid Heatmap

In this month's version, we take a look at sales of hybrids produced exclusively by domestic automakers: GM, Ford and Chrysler. With the emergence of hybrid pickup trucks, we wondered if buyers of domestic hybrids were coming from a different part of the country than the larger hybrid market. After adjusting the sales numbers based on population, we see that California remains a hotspot—but the Midwest is stronger while much of the Northeast (except for the DC area) shows less hybrid popularity.

Analysis of January 2009 Sales Numbers

"Top 5 global hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008.

and "Top 5 US hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2008.

The beginning of 2009 was much like the end of 2008 for auto markets: showrooms stayed quiet, credit remained tight, and sales continued to slide. Overall, auto sales were down 38 percent compared with last January; brands like General Motors and Chrysler saw more severe declines as their volumes were cut in half. Although hybrids outperformed the market slightly, sales of hybrid models were still far below typical levels.

January hybrid sales fell an average of 31 percent from the previous year. Sales of the segment-leading Prius slid 29 percent, and models like the Escape Hybrid and Camry Hybrid plummeted, falling 42 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Remarkably, sales of the Lexus RX hybrid held up reasonably well: sales of the luxury crossover SUV were up 29 percent in January, making the RX the second highest selling model this month behind the Prius.

If there was good news in January, it was that hybrid powertrains finally penetrated the pickup segment: GM shipped seven Silverado Two-Mode Hybrids to its dealers this month. While a hulking full-sized pickup with a hybrid powertrain may be anathema to many of today’s hybrid owners, vehicles like the Two-Mode Silverado have the potential to attract new buyers to the hybrid market. In particular, drivers who need the hauling or towing capabilities of a big pickup but are concerned about fuel economy seem like good candidates for the gas-electric Silverado.

We’re not really sure how many pickup buyers fit this bill, or whether the Two-Mode Silverado’s $38,000 starting price will scare them off. But the fact remains that the Silverado expands the reach of hybrids beyond midsized sedans and crossovers into a new vehicle segment. Sales of large trucks may have slowed somewhat over the past year, but the top two selling vehicles in January were both pickups. That means a very large new pool of potential hybrid buyers for the future.

US Sales

Our information is based on hybrid sales as reported by the manufacturers. For each model, this month's sales are shown compared to sales in the previous month and at the same time last year. We also examine hybrid market share by model and manufacturer. The historical sales graph for top-selling hybrid models shows estimated 2008 volumes based on sales-to-date.

Hybrids sold in the US (January 2009): 15,441

U.S. hybrid sales for January 2009 by manufacturer and model

U.S. hybrid market historical sales (1999 - 2008)

Regional Data