Hybrids Are Hotcakes

Last year, they weren't. This year, they are:

News for 'F' - (DJ UPDATE: US Hybrid-Vehicle Sales Up 49% In Jan-July Period)

(Adds actual registration numbers; clarifies that figures based on registrations and include both trucks and cars.)

DETROIT (AP)--U.S. sales of new hybrid vehicles were up 49% in the first seven months of this year, due largely to a boom in sales in the Midwest, an auto information and marketing company said Monday.

Oklahoma led all states with a 143% increase in registrations of new hybrid cars and trucks compared with January-July 2006, said Southfield-based R.L. Polk & Co. Hawaii was the only state to report a decline.

Polk said Americans registered 215,997 new hybrid vehicles in the 2007 period, compared with 144,721 in the same period of 2006.

Hybrid sales were up 57% in the Midwest, the most of any region. Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TM) Prius and the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry were the most popular models there. Hybrid sales rose 52% in the West, 49% in the Northeast and 42% in the South.

Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis for R.L. Polk, said hybrids are a bright spot in a U.S. market that is otherwise down. Miller predicted total U.S. hybrid sales will exceed 300,000 this year, or more than 2% of all sales. U.S. consumers bought 254,545 hybrids in 2006.

Miller said hybrid sales are on the rise because of high gas prices and environmental concerns.

"The data indicates that hybrids have not hit plateau and that there is room for continued growth within the marketplace in all regions," Miller said in a news release.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 17, 2007 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 06 14 PM EDT 09-17-07

Source: DJ Broad Tape

Emphasis added. It's good to see that sales are up all over the country.

Elsewhere, Popular Science predicted that that, in 20 years, cars that rely on batteries (gas-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric) would make up 30% of the market. A far cry from today's 2%. Regular ICE cars would still make up 35% of the market. They also feel that the ethanol craze will subside (6% market share) as everyone sobers up and realizes it's not the super special fuel that corn farmers, politicians, GM, and some greens make it out to be.

Other fuel sources (hydrogen, biodiesel, etc) and their forecasted market share are there too. Granted this is just one group's opinion, but their background gives them a bit more credence than others, not to mention they're not tainted by vested interests.

If you haven't heard/read about the Tesla Roadster, the electric sports car, you can check it out here. Yes, this car is actually in production, as opposed to those concept cars that other automotive companies tease us with. And it can be yours for $100,000.

Obviously, that's not a middle class America price. It's a luxury car price, which puts the Tesla Roadster on par (at least by price) with the Cadillac XLR, Audi A8, several Mercedes Benz models, and the BMW 7-Series. It's hoped that if sales are good, that the profits can be used to develop something a bit more mainstream. Environmentally friendly and luxurious? I would think that would be irresistible to Hollywood. :)

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