Hybrid Car Sales, July 2009

Hybrid car sales took off in July.  Whether it was the Cash for Clunkers (CARs) program or if it was the Prius hitting its stride, the 34,66...

Hybrid car sales took off in July.  Whether it was the Cash for Clunkers (CARs) program or if it was the Prius hitting its stride, the 34,660 units sold was 32.6% better than last July.  Cumulative sales for 2009 are still down 27.8%.  That makes July, 2009 the fifth best sales month for hybrids ever.  Not since May, 2008 have the numbers been this good.

Probably the biggest news is the Prius in its first full month of sales without limited numbers at dealerships.  The third generation Prius sold over 25,000 units in Japan, and over 19,000 units here in the US.  Although overall Toyota sales were down 11% from last July, the Prius has to be a bright spot for them.

Ford sales were also way up, due to traffic from the Cash for Clunkers program (according to Ford).  Fuel efficiency and hybrids were the mainstays for Ford posting a gain in year-to-year sales for the first time in a long time.  Part of that is how badly sales were last July, but not everyone saw a gain (see Toyota), so anything positive for them is good news.

Nissan saw a year on year gain of 44% for the Altima Hybrid.  Limited sales of the Altima Hybrid, available in only eight states, makes it hard to interpret their results.  But it looks like fuel efficiency and the CARS program were a big bonus for Nissan as well.


Monthly Sales
July 2008 July 2009 % Change
Make Model
N % N %
Ford Escape/Mariner
1,265 4.8 2,543 7.3 101.0
Ford Fusion/Milan
0 0.0 2,810 8.1 0.0
GM Escalade
0 0.0 167 0.5 0.0
GM Silverado/Sierra
0 0.0 180 0.5 0.0
GM Tahoe/Yukon
351 1.3 371 1.1 5.7
Honda Accord
3 0.0 0 0.0 -100.0
Honda Civic
3,440 13.2 969 2.8 -71.8
Honda Insight
0 0.0 2,295 6.6 0.0
Nissan Altima
715 2.7 1,030 3.0 44.1
Toyota Camry
2,645 10.1 2,509 7.2 -5.1
Toyota GS 450h
40 0.2 45 0.1 12.5
Toyota Highlander
1,371 5.2 1,171 3.4 -14.6
Toyota LS600hL
83 0.3 28 0.1 -66.3
Toyota Prius
14,785 56.6 19,173 55.3 29.7
Toyota RX 400h
1,439 5.5 1,369 3.9 -4.9
Total

26,137
34,660
32.6
















Cumulative Sales
Cumulative 2008 Cumulative 2009 % Change
Make Model
N % N %
Ford Escape/Mariner
13,965 6.4 10,434 6.7 -25.3
Ford Fusion/Milan
2,810 1.3 8,749 5.6 211.4
GM Escalade
167 0.1 1,007 0.6 503.0
GM Silverado/Sierra
180 0.1 650 0.4 261.1
GM Tahoe/Yukon
1,507 0.7 3,082 2.0 104.5
Honda Accord
191 0.1 1 0.0 -99.5
Honda Civic
20,001 9.2 13,297 8.5 -33.5
Honda Insight
2,295 1.1 9,819 6.3 327.8
Nissan Altima
6,605 3.0 4,204 2.7 -36.4
Toyota Camry
33,041 15.2 15,516 9.9 -53.0
Toyota GS 450h
504 0.2 253 0.2 -49.8
Toyota Highlander
14,224 6.5 7,530 4.8 -47.1
Toyota LS600hL
665 0.3 185 0.1 -72.2
Toyota Prius
110,615 50.9 74,924 47.8 -32.3
Toyota RX 400h
10,407 4.8 7,167 4.6 -31.1
Total

217,177 156,818 -27.8

Honda may be the biggest disappointment, as they continue to divert production to Japan for the new Insight.  The Civic Hybrid sales were down 71.8%.  It seems like the Honda Insight is not competing well against the Prius, but is competing well against its cousin the Civic. 

GM saw good gains this month, with the Tahoe/Yukon up 5.7%, while the Sierra/Silverado and Escalade had decent numbers (for them).  Although limited in sales, these hybrid SUVs and trucks may be considered luxury vehicles, putting them in a different class for what is good sales figures.

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