Green Cars Get Green Light, Hybrid Sales Outperform Overall October Market

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Spurred by factory incentives, replenished stocks and the relative freshness of several models, sales of hybrid-electric cars and SUVs soared in October, easily outperforming the market as a whole.

Compared to October '08 - a month with six fewer hybrid models available - sales of Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota hybrids were up 12.1 percent, while sales of conventionally powered cars and trucks were flat.

The one-month picture was even rosier, as October hybrid sales jumped 22.5 percent from September's, versus a 12.1 percent hike in sales of conventional models.

Nissan, which has only one model - the Altima hybrid, - and sells it in just the nine states with the toughest emissions standards, was the only hybrid maker to record a sales decline for both periods, dropping 46 percent from a year earlier and 13 percent from September.

As with most hybrids - Toyota's Prius excepted - Nissan's actual numbers are quite small because of low sales volumes. October's sales drop represented just 46 fewer Altima hybrid sales than in September.

Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius, sweetened by a small factory incentive, remained by far the segment leader, accounting for 55 percent of all hybrid sales for the month.

Combined Toyota and Lexus hybrid sales rose 15 percent from October '08 and were up 28.6 percent from September.

Honda motor Co. also scored a pair of pluses, with sales of its Civic and Insight hybrids combining for a 22.5 percent increase from a year earlier and a 4.2 percent improvement from September.

Insight sales were flat for the month while Civic hybrid sales, though small in number, scored a 57 percent rise from September. Despite the one-month bump, sales of the Civic hybrid were down almost 85 percent from a year earlier, though, in part because of cannibalization from the smaller and less-expensive Insight wasn't offered last year.)

Incentives helped GM, whose hybrids rose a collective 14.6 per cent for the month; while Ford hybrid sales were boosted 7.2 percent on the strength of its Escape SUV and Fusion sedan.

"The key story here is cash-for-clunkers hangover," Edmunds.com analyst David Greene said of October's hybrid sales performance.  

Hybrids outpaced other models during the two-month federal program, when $4,500 trade-vouchers helped take the sting out of the hybrid technology premium that boosts their cost. Most dealers were left with diminished hybrid stocks in September.

October's boost, Green said, "is more attributable to a rebound" in supplies, "and some release of pent-up demand that had been caused by low availability in September."

Of the total of 24,475 hybrids sold in October, Toyota and Lexus models combined for 18,757, or 76.7 percent;  Ford was second with 2,282 Ford and Mercury hybrid sales, a 9.3 percent share; Honda booked 1,978 hybrid sales for an 8.1 percent share; GM was fourth with 1,159 sales and a 4.7 percent piece of the pie, and Nissan was fifth with just 299 sales and a 1.2 percent share.

              Hybrid Sales
October 2009; September 2009; October 2008

Ford
Ford Escape - 868; 787; 1,782.
Mercury Mariner - 81; 91; 215.
Ford Fusion - 1,226; 1,116; NA.
Mercury Milan - 107; 144; NA .

GM
Chevrolet Malibu - 114; 156; 325.
Chevrolet Silverado - 102; 79; NA.
GMC Sierra - 65; 41; NA.
Chevrolet Tahoe - 391; 280; 327.
GMC Yukon - 215; 146; 193.
Cadillac Escalade - 186; 189; 230.
Saturn Aura - 30; 30; 22.
Saturn Vue Greenline - 56; 90; 354.

Honda
Civic - 239; 152; 1,621.
Insight - 1,739; 1,746; NA .

Nissan
Altima - 299, 345; 554.

Toyota
Lexus HS250 - 1,527; 1,242; NA.
Lexus GS460h - 39; 38; 22.
Lexus LS 600h L - 21; 12; 55.
Lexus RX 450h - 1,567; 1,168; 615.
Toyota Camry - 1,407; 872; 2,792.
Toyota Highlander - 700; 269; 907.
Toyota Prius - 13,496; 10,984; 11,804.

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John O'Dell November 6, 2009, 1:18 PM

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