The slow but steady rise in popularity of the Toyota Prius has created a positive association with the word “hybrid” for automakers, and prompted many competing vehicles. Derivatives of the full hybrid—which can propel the vehicle for short distances on electric power alone—that offer a percentage of the reductions in fuel consumption and emissions soon
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard Hybrid car sales fell for the third consecutive year, dropping nearly 6 percent in a year when overall vehicle sales jumped by 11 percent. That harsh reality could give ammunition to hybrid critics who argue that gas-electric vehicles were never viable, or that they only serve as a
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General Motors will take great pains to avoid using the H word when it unveils the gas-electric Buick LaCrosse this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Instead, it will call the system “eAssist,” to avoid any association with competing hybrids, and to dodge past complaints that its mild form of hybrid technology doesn’t deserve
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard Sales of hybrid cars fell by 17.5 percent in June, compared to one year ago, while the overall car market grew by more than 14 percent. With gas prices remaining low, consumers looking for a new car were not motivated to spend more money on a fuel-efficient car.
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard 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
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard We’re back online with our Hybrid Market Dashboard—now expanded into the Hybrid and Clean Diesel Market Dashboard. Hybrids and diesels have competed for mind share as two of the best strategies for improving vehicle efficiency. The hard numbers, which give us a view into real-world market share for
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Bloomberg is reporting that General Motors stopped work on the Cadillac Converj, a sleek electric-drive coupe, to focus on cheaper plug-in hybrids for its luxury brand. The report is based on comments from two GM executives who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The decision, if verified by GM, represents an
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Last week, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz repeated his long-held opinion that hybrid gas-electric cars have a limited market and will not be profitable for the company. Yet, he believes GM will be forced to make more hybrids because of tougher fuel efficiency regulations. This begs the question: What hybrids should we expect from
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard Analysis of 2009 Sales Numbers "Top 5 global hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2009. "Top 5 US hybrid markets" based on vehicle registrations CYTD November 2009. The final tally of hybrid sales for 2009 comes in at 290,272 units—not bad for a year in which
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> Subscribe to the HybridCars.com Market Dashboard For November, we offer an abbreviated version of our Hybrid Market Dashboard. The full dashboard, with geo-based data, will return in December. The first 19 sales of the original Honda Insight were posted in December 1999. Therefore, November 2009 marks the completion of a full decade of hybrid
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