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The overall vehicle market went from bad to worse in April. It marked the worst April for car sales since 1995. Yet, brisk hybrid sales showed once again that fuel-efficient gas-electric vehicles are recession-proof. Hybrid sales climbed above 3 percent of the total market for second time ever—the last time was May 2007, also a month when gas prices spiked.
Hybrid sales in March 2008 continued to defy gravity. In an overall vehicle market that shrunk by more than 12 percent compared to a year ago, sales of hybrids grew by more than 10 percent. The gains were not evenly spread. Ford—having abandoned Bill Ford's goal of producing hundreds of thousands of hybrids per year—suffered from not having enough hybrids to meet demand.
Now that Eliot Spitzer is back on the job market, he might consider a new stint as hybrid promotion spokesman. The story of Spitzer cleaning up corruption on Wall Street only to fall prey to his own character weaknesses resembles developments in the hybrid market, which remains flat based on the auto industry's failure to deliver more hybrids just when car buyers are most ready to go green.
January is usually not a big month for car sales. This year, the New Year doldrums hit hybrids as well as the larger car market. Sales of all vehicles—hybrids included—were down by approximately 25 percent compared to December. But if we compare this month to January of last year, a familiar trend emerges: hybrid sales grew by 25 percent while the overall market declined slightly. Could hybrid sales be recession-proof?
The final 2007 hybrid sales numbers have been tallied, and the headline news is that US hybrid sales grew by 38 percent to 350,000 units in a year when total light-duty vehicle sales declined by 2.5 percent.
Reinforcing the common theme for 2007, the hybrid market grew in November while the overall vehicle market remained stagnant. Compared to November 2006, the hybrid market expanded by 80 percent, while the overall car market receded by 2 percent.
Hybrid sales, carried by the Prius, continue to defy the economics of an overall vehicle market that has remained basically flat. Rising prices at the pump could have an even greater impact on hybrid sales from now until the end of the year.
Hybrids continue to suffer from the malaise affecting all new vehicles. September marked the second consecutive month that U.S. hybrid sales were below 2% of overall vehicle sales. But for the year, hybrid growth still looks pretty healthy: in the first nine months of 2007, hybrid sales rose 38% while the general auto market fell by 3%.
August saw strong sales for the Toyota Prius but lackluster performance in the rest of the hybrid market. Weaker consumer confidence and a drop in gas prices may have conspired to reverse the trend of year-over-year hybrid car sales growth.
