Green Car Dominance

With the rise in worldwide oil prices and question as to the future of the petroleum industry, many individuals are trading in their gasoline-guzzlers for “Green Cars.” Factor in the falling economy, and many automotive producers are finding it more profitable to take the bite and finally switch over to development and production of eco-friendly hybrids and economy cars. So what does this mean, exactly for some of North America’s biggest automotive manufacturers? 
Naturally the recent economic crisis and questions about petroleum consumption have led to the closing of a number of SUV plants in North America, most predominantly for General Motors. This has naturally led to the fear that with the falling stock market, jobs lost from these plants will not help the ailing economy. 
But the recent push in hybrid and alternative-power vehicles has proved a welcome boon for the automotive giant. GM is responding in a very green, and hopefully very economic way with the release of a new series of small “green” cars, including the much-hailed

Analyzing Hybrid Car Sales Figures Through September 2008

The substantial growth in sales for hybrid cars in the United States has been chronicled by the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA). This organization notes that hybrid car sales figures have risen from 9,367 in 2000 and 47,525 in 2004 to 324,318 in 2007. A closer look at sales figures so far in 2008 shows that hybrids are moving from trend to permanence in the U.S. auto market.

According to the EDTA, 235,283 hybrid cars and trucks have been sold in the United States through September 2008. The leader in sales figures in the hybrid market is Toyota with the industry-leading Prius selling 130,561 in nine months. Toyota has also sold 39,418 Camry hybrids and 16, 572 Highlander hybrids during the same period.

Honda has leveled the most serious challenge to Toyota’s hybrid sales dominance with its Civic hybrid selling 27,597 units in 2008. Lexus has demonstrated that its high-end reputation could be translated to the hybrid market by selling 12,498 units of the 400h so far this year. In contrast, General Motors has only moved 7,096 of its hybrids thus far as its hybrid vehicle program is in its infancy.

Hybrid Vehicles Increase Share of Auto Market in the United States

The sales figures for hybrid cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles in the United States show a gradual decline of traditional vehicles sales. The 46 percent increase in hybrid sales from April 2007 to April 2008 helped push sales in the vehicle class to 3.2 percent of all vehicles sold throughout the United States. There were 39,898 hybrid vehicles sold during this 12-month period which shows promise for an increasing market share as gas prices increase and gas mileage decreases in traditional vehicles.

Toyota’s Prius maintained its status as the gold standard for hybrid vehicles over the last year. There were 21,757 Prius models sold in the United States through April 2008, which was a 67 percent increase since April 2007. This popular model has been purchased 514,000 times since 2004 and 680,000 since its introduction in the United States. The introduction of the much-acclaimed 2009 Toyota Prius this summer should push these figures upward through April 2009.

The Toyota brand continued its domination of the hybrid market with increased sales of the Camry and Highlander hybrid. The Camry hybrid sedan improved 51 percent over last year’s sales figures and claimed 16.7 percent of all Camry sales. There were 2,578 Highlander hybrid SUVs sold over the last 12 months, which took up 25 percent of all Highlanders driven off Toyota lots.

The largesse for hybrid vehicles was not uniform across the American auto market. The Lexus Gs 450h sold 82 units during the sales period, which was a decrease of 53 percent from April 2007. This decrease can be explained by the high price of the vehicle as well as the premium niche carved out by Lexus. The Honda Accord hybrid dropped 92 percent in terms of sales while the Ford Escape and Mariner hybrids plummeted 16 percent over the last 12 months.

These latter sales figures expose a significant problem in the American hybrid vehicle market. Producers like Ford and General Motors are creating hybrid models in extremely limited numbers to gain public favor without making major investments. Toyota’s volume of hybrid cars and SUVs as well as the company’s commitment to improving hybrid models like Prius has gone a long way toward generating consumer support. The failure by American auto manufacturers to invest in hybrid vehicles beyond trial hydrogen and biodiesel programs will continue to increase the market share taken by outside companies like Toyota and Honda.