Sharp fall in hybrid vehicles sales as US tightens belt [“The lower gas prices are, the tougher....]

FT.COM ^

[Sub-Driver]

Sharp fall in hybrid vehicles sales as US tightens belt

By Bernard Simon in Toronto

Published: January 1 2009 23:31 | Last updated: January 1 2009 23:31

Americans’ appetite for hybrid cars is evaporating as tumbling fuel prices and tighter household budgets trump environmental concerns.

The sudden reversal in what was, until a few months ago, one of the hottest segments of the world’s biggest car market creates a new area of uncertainty for carmakers, such as Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor and Honda, that are investing heavily in hybrids and other fuel-efficient technologies.

Industry executives, including Alan Mulally, Ford’s chief executive, have joined environmentalists in urging US politicians to consider the hitherto taboo idea of raising petrol taxes as a way of encouraging fuel conservation.

US hybrid petro-electric sales in November shrank 53 per cent from a year earlier, compared with a 37 per cent drop overall, according to Autodata, a market-research firm. December sales, to be announced on Monday, are to show a similar trend.

Sales of most hybrid models have dropped sharply. Demand for Toyota’s Prius hatchback, the top-selling hybrid, fell by almost half in November from a year earlier. The Camry sedan was down 57 per cent, and the Ford Escape crossover 35 per cent.

The setback has been pronounced for larger models, touted as much for performance as fuel economy. Sales of the Lexus RX400 sport-utility vehicle are now little more than a third of the level a year ago.

[Sub-Driver]

Rocket science once again........

[She hits a grand slam tonight]

nice try, but soon with the Obama tax increase on carbons you will fastly see a change.

r u blind the ultra left is in control, so invest properly.

[Williams]

At the moment glad I didn’t buy one yet. Considered it when it was almost impossible to get one.

[RobRoy]

I remember just after the first Iraq war began I bought a dodge full sized van for a song. ;)

[OCCASparky]

Considered it

Why? Assuming $3/gallon gas as Edmunds did when they performed their study, even at 25K miles per year it would take nearly 10 YEARS to hit the break-even point. That break even point is even longer the less one drives. Now that gas is hovering around the $1.50-1.60 mark, do the math.

Oh, and BTW--nobody knows when the batteries will have to be replaced, so that's also a concern...

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/116513/article.html

[Personal Responsibility]

Wait...wait...wait...

Gas prices are dropping because the price of oil is dropping? How can that be? All we heard for months was:

Gas prices are not tied to oil prices
Oil prices will never come down
Even if we had more oil, the price of gas will only drop a few cents - if that.

Could it be that the democrats were....lying???

[hadrian]

[mrmargaritaville]

anybody who dumped their SUV in August, in favor of a hybrid or subcompact, without “crunching the numbers” is an idiot.

[pandemoniumreigns]

Yeah, I get your point, but aren't car sales in general down quite a bit right now?

[GonzoGOP]

The libs fail to realize that green is a luxury. And when times are hard luxuries are the first to go. Nobody is going to buy carbon credits with their last dollar. You don’t worry about feeling morally superior when you are hungry. You just do what you need to do in order to eat.

[RayChuang88]

Look, if you want a car that has very good fuel economy without the long-term costs of a hybrid, you would drive something like this:

2009 Honda Civic sedan

2009 Nissan Sentra sedan

I see a lot of both models here in California.

[tanknetter]

nice try, but soon with the Obama tax increase on carbons you will fastly see a change.

It'll be interesting to see the public reaction to higher energy taxes. IIRC the BTU tax Clinton started to push for in 1993 died a fairly quick death (relative to gays in the military and Hillarycare) because of very bad public (or at least voter) reaction.

Today I was filling up the wife's minivan (Toyota Sienna made in ... Lexington Kentucky) at $1.53 per gallon when a Chevy Suburban pulled in to the next pump over. Typical soccer mom jumps down and starts to fuel her truck. I casually mention that, with prices now at ~$1.50, she must be loving life. "Oh absolutely - those prices last year were really killing us ... and we need this monster for the kids". As I drive off I noticed she had an Obama bumpersticker. As much as I wanted to think "hypocrite", I think the term "target of opportunity" might be more appropriate.

[pandemoniumreigns]

"anybody who dumped their SUV in August, in favor of a hybrid or subcompact, without “crunching the numbers” is an idiot."

Yeah, I was hearing of a lot of folks who were bringing in their kbb trade-in value on their Expiditions and Escalades and leaving the dealer with a 7 to 10k loss and driving off the lot in a tin can...not even considering how far that 7k would have got them in gas even at $4.50 a gal...in a Escalade...

I still got my V8 Grand Cherokee...16 mpg aint so bad right now...

[bicyclerepair]

30 MPG in my 02 PT (50/50 city/hwy) ain’t too bad.

[When do we get liberated?]

Hugely...I talk to dealers every day and they are all hurting. Talked to 2 Nissan dealers that did less than 20 cars last month.

[ltc8k6]

FYI, Toyota has never had to replace a Prius battery pack because it wore out, and that goes back to the models sold in Japan in 1997.

Prius batteries are lasting a very long time in service. 300,000 miles has been done a few times.

[ltc8k6]

I just averaged 22mpg in my 08 5.7L Grand Cherokee 4X4 on a 1,000 mile I-95 run.

Not bad at all. It had 4 people and their luggage, plus a bunch of presents in it.

It used way less fuel than I thought it would.

[T. Jefferson]

Assuming $3/gallon gas as Edmunds did when they performed their study, even at 25K miles per year it would take nearly 10 YEARS to hit the break-even point.

You forgot about the big elephant in the room. The resale/trade-in value of quirky eco-cars is horrific. So add another 5 to 10 years to break-even.

[pandemoniumreigns]

I haven't actually calc'ed my mpg with pencil and paper lately. I've just been looking at the comp. est.

I need to do that for good hwy/city test...

[pandemoniumreigns]

Yeah I know what you mean...

I was thinking of a new pick up back in the summer... but not now...