Hybrid Car Sales, January 2009

The start of the new year has not gone well for car makers, even in their hybrid sales.  Sales were down 33% in reported hybrid car sales (full hybrids only).  Although the percentage drop is better than that of overall sales, most of that is due to the Prius, which did not fall as much as most of the others.

Some might find that odd since a new generation Prius is on its way in a few months, but Toyota has been offering deals on the Prius to help clear out the inventory. 

Make	Model	Jan-08	Jan-09	% Change
Honda	Accord	48	1	-98%
Honda	Civic	1,745	1,076	-38%
Honda	Insight	0	0	-
Toyota	Prius	11,379	8,121	-29%
Toyota	Highlander	2,143	984	-54%
Toyota	Camry	3,750	1,141	-70%
Toyota	GS 450h	64	41	-36%
Toyota	RX 400h	1,211	1,556	28%
Toyota	LS600hL	105	33	-69%
Ford	Escape/Mariner	1,474	880	-40%
Nissan	Altima	473	644	36%
GM	Yukon/Tahoe	0	467	-
GM	Escalade	0	132	-
Chrysler	Aspen/Durango	0	0	-
Total		22,392	15,076	-33%
Make	Model	Cumulative, 2008	Cumulative, 2009	% Change
Honda	Accord	48	1	-98%
Honda	Civic	1,745	1,076	-38%
Honda	Insight	0	0	-
Toyota	Prius	11,379	8,121	-29%
Toyota	Highlander	2,143	984	-54%
Toyota	Camry	3,750	1,141	-70%
Toyota	GS 450h	64	41	-36%
Toyota	RX 400h	1,211	1,556	28%
Toyota	LS600hL	105	33	-69%
Ford	Escape/Mariner	1,474	880	-40%
Nissan	Altima	473	644	36%
GM	Yukon/Tahoe	0	467	-
GM	Escalade	0	132	-
Chrysler	Aspen/Durango	0	0	-
Total		22,392	15,076	-33%

Nissan saw a rise in sales for their Altima Hybrid, but sales of the Hybrid Altima are limited and so are supplies. So, it's hard to gauge how well Nissan is doing with their hybrid cars. Until they can get their own hybrid on the road (the Altima Hybrid is built using Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive), that's not likely to change.

Chrysler is out of the Hybrid marketplace, with the short-lived Hybrid Aspen and Durango no longer in production.

Honda, Toyota and Ford were all down 36% to 40% in overall hybrid car sales. That's in line with the overall drop of 37% of sales in the auto industry. In a way, that shows how far hybrid cars have come. They are part of the crowd, no longer set apart from what is going on with the rest of the industry.

There are other reasons why hybrid car sales are down right now, but it seems to be reflective of how sales were overall, rather than a reflection of hybrids.

Related:
Hybrid Car Sales, January 2008
Hybrid Car Sales, December 2008
Hybrid Car Sales in 2008 and 2009