xcel
02-27-2007, 01:38 PM
At Riverside Honda, 2005 was good for hybrids and 2006 was better. (http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_hybrid27.173b192.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Honda_Civic_Hybrid.jpgRodd Cayton -The Press-Enterprise - Feb. 26, 2007
While sales growth of gas-electric vehicles slowed last year, and Honda hybrid sales declined, sales in Riverside were still climbing, a dealership source said Monday.
U.S. hybrid sales rose 28 percent from 2005 to 2006, but the rate of growth is starting to slow, according to a company that analyzes automotive industry data. Growth was 81 percent from 2004 to 2005.
Consumers bought 254,545 hybrids last year as gasoline prices hit $3 per gallon or more for much of the year, up from 199,148 in 2005, according to nationwide auto registration data released on Monday by Southfield, Mich.-based R.L. Polk & Co.
The national picture wasn't replicated at Riverside Honda, hybrid specialist Mike Valencia said. Although there was no hard data, Valencia said, it seems as good as 2005 was for hybrids, 2006 was better.
Valencia said part of the attraction was a state program which issues stickers to certain low-emissions and alternative-fuel vehicles that allows them to use freeway carpool lanes without carrying multiple bodies.
He said many hybrid shoppers asked about tax credits, part of what he calls the educated state of hybrid buyers. The dealership's best-selling hybrid last year was the Civic, which, like all Civics, was redesigned for 2006.
"They've done all their research," Valencia said. "They know all about the credits."
The rate of growth was the second-slowest since 2000, due in large part to car buyers having more environmentally friendly options, plus the expiration of some tax credits on Toyota hybrids, said Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis for R.L. Polk.
Alex Rosten, an industry analyst with Santa Monica-based automotive research site Edmunds.com, said 2007 will be marked by two trends. The hybrid world will grow as General Motors introduces gas-electric versions of three of its large sport-utility vehicles, the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. This, in turn, will bring in new buyers.
Rosten said Toyota, which last year sold about three-fourths of all hybrids purchased in the U.S., will not have such wide dominance, primarily because of the arrival of the GM SUVs, the Saturn Aura and the Nissan Altima. Also, last summer Toyota hit the legal production limit of 60,000 vehicles, at which its hybrids do not get full federal tax credits. The tax credits for Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles were cut in half in October.
Rosten said Toyota's hybrid sales dropped 22.4 percent between September and October last year.
"Toyota is lobbying to extend the credits," Rosten said.
Honda sold fewer hybrid in 2006 that the year before, said Rosten, but still ranks second.
R.L. Polk's Miller expects industry growth to continue, because demand is still strong and new hybrid models are expected this year, including GM's dual-mode hybrid, which uses two electric motors and a V-8 engine to get as much as 23 miles per gallon in a pickup or SUV.
"If the traditional truck buyer can be wowed by the hybrid, that's going to get a lot of people excited," Miller said.
Hybrids accounted for about 1.5 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year, with Toyota's Prius and Highlander leading the segment, R.L. Polk said.
California led all states in hybrid sales with 67,533 last year.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Honda_Civic_Hybrid.jpgRodd Cayton -The Press-Enterprise - Feb. 26, 2007
While sales growth of gas-electric vehicles slowed last year, and Honda hybrid sales declined, sales in Riverside were still climbing, a dealership source said Monday.
U.S. hybrid sales rose 28 percent from 2005 to 2006, but the rate of growth is starting to slow, according to a company that analyzes automotive industry data. Growth was 81 percent from 2004 to 2005.
Consumers bought 254,545 hybrids last year as gasoline prices hit $3 per gallon or more for much of the year, up from 199,148 in 2005, according to nationwide auto registration data released on Monday by Southfield, Mich.-based R.L. Polk & Co.
The national picture wasn't replicated at Riverside Honda, hybrid specialist Mike Valencia said. Although there was no hard data, Valencia said, it seems as good as 2005 was for hybrids, 2006 was better.
Valencia said part of the attraction was a state program which issues stickers to certain low-emissions and alternative-fuel vehicles that allows them to use freeway carpool lanes without carrying multiple bodies.
He said many hybrid shoppers asked about tax credits, part of what he calls the educated state of hybrid buyers. The dealership's best-selling hybrid last year was the Civic, which, like all Civics, was redesigned for 2006.
"They've done all their research," Valencia said. "They know all about the credits."
The rate of growth was the second-slowest since 2000, due in large part to car buyers having more environmentally friendly options, plus the expiration of some tax credits on Toyota hybrids, said Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis for R.L. Polk.
Alex Rosten, an industry analyst with Santa Monica-based automotive research site Edmunds.com, said 2007 will be marked by two trends. The hybrid world will grow as General Motors introduces gas-electric versions of three of its large sport-utility vehicles, the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. This, in turn, will bring in new buyers.
Rosten said Toyota, which last year sold about three-fourths of all hybrids purchased in the U.S., will not have such wide dominance, primarily because of the arrival of the GM SUVs, the Saturn Aura and the Nissan Altima. Also, last summer Toyota hit the legal production limit of 60,000 vehicles, at which its hybrids do not get full federal tax credits. The tax credits for Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles were cut in half in October.
Rosten said Toyota's hybrid sales dropped 22.4 percent between September and October last year.
"Toyota is lobbying to extend the credits," Rosten said.
Honda sold fewer hybrid in 2006 that the year before, said Rosten, but still ranks second.
R.L. Polk's Miller expects industry growth to continue, because demand is still strong and new hybrid models are expected this year, including GM's dual-mode hybrid, which uses two electric motors and a V-8 engine to get as much as 23 miles per gallon in a pickup or SUV.
"If the traditional truck buyer can be wowed by the hybrid, that's going to get a lot of people excited," Miller said.
Hybrids accounted for about 1.5 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year, with Toyota's Prius and Highlander leading the segment, R.L. Polk said.
California led all states in hybrid sales with 67,533 last year.