A recent slump in hybrid sales for the month of November has many automotive manufactures questioning their market plans for the upcoming year. Falling 50%- more than automobile sales as a whole- last month’s hybrid car sales have taken a drastic turn for the worst, reports the Wall Street Journal. With the sudden fall in gasoline prices from $4.11 a gallon in July, to the most recent average hovering around $1.73, it seems car buyers are now opting for vehicles with a cheaper initial cost, even if it means higher gas mileage. In fact, Ford is reporting that their F-150 pickup truck was their best selling model for the month of November.
But this begs the question; is it worth it? Even though projections indicate that gasoline prices may be as low as $1 within the coming year, with a falling global economy this initial drop in fuel prices cannot last indefinitely. While it seems a number of car buyers are unwilling to
spend more now for less gas later, how can consumers be certain prices will stay low for long?
Hybrid cars are notorious for being a greater initial investment that pays off over time in the form of higher fuel mileage, but the environment for hybrids has faded within the last month, making the industry question their staying power. But what’s more is the way this sudden turn in sales shows how many hybrid buyers are merely “fair-weather fans.” Hybrids are meant to be more than just a way to save money on fuel costs, but a way to cut fuel usage altogether. Regardless of higher costs, the real genius of a hybrid car is the fact that it acts as a gateway technology between the dirty, petrol-fueled machines of the Industrial Revolution and the clean, responsibly powered machines of the future.
Hybrids have evidently made headway in this modern age of high fuel prices mainly because of their above average MPG, but without the fuel price squeeze there is a failing in the selling power of these in-between technologies. Are hybrid vehicles and their futuristic partners dependent upon poor fuel prices for their popularity, and will the technology ever advance with a falling popular demand?
Of course sales have only fallen for one month, but this troubling incident may be an indicator of the real reason environmentally friendly technologies have gained so much ground in so little time.
AceFisch |
My Bio & Articles
I am an junior English major/ Philosophy minor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Currently I am spending the spring of 2009 studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.
