The cash for clunkers campaign has given a massive boost to hybrid sales in the US, with a reported leap by 48.6 per cent in August year on year.
Overall sales of light duty vehicles in the US increased by one per cent to 1,261,997 units according to figures from Autodata, with reported hybrid sales representing 3.07 per cent of new vehicle sales. Compared to July 2009 results, hybrid sales increased by 9.2 per cent while sales of all light duty vehicles rose by 26.5 per cent.
Both Ford and Nissan made significant gains in their share of reported hybrid sales with Nissan reporting the share of hybrid sales jumping from 1.7 per cent in August last year to 8.2 per cent in August this year. Ford more than doubled its share from 5.1 per cent to 12.1 per cent, while Toyota saw a fall from 75 per cent to 62.5 per cent. Here is how all of the major manufacturers faired in terms of hybrid sales during the month:
Ford: Hybrid vehicles from Ford – the Fusion, Escape, Milan and Mariner – enjoyed combined sales of 4,695 units, which was an August sales record and up 251 per cent compared to the previous year.
General Motors: GM sold a total of 1,708 hybrids during the month – an increase of 4.8 per cent compared to the previous year.
Honda: The company sold a total of 4,943 hybrids during the month with 4,226 of these units being the new Honda Insight. The Civic Hybrid meanwhile sold 717 units, down 77 per cent compared to August 2008.
Nissan: Despite limited availability, the Altima Hybrid sold 3,164 units during the month – that’s a 615.8 per cent increase compared to the same month last year.
Toyota: Still the hybrid sales leader, Toyota sold 24,191 units in the month including 543 of the new Lexus HS250. The world’s most popular hybrid car, the Prius, saw sales of 18,886 units – up 40.3 per cent. Sales of the Camry hybrid however, dropped by 38.8 per cent to 2,114 units; and sales of the Highlander Hybrid were down 31.9 per cent to 836 units.
In terms of the luxury division Lexus, the RX Hybrid enjoyed a sales jump of 37.4 per cent to 1,754 units; the GS Hybrid increased its sales by 37.1 per cent to 48 units; and sales of the LS600h dropped by 86 per cent to just 10 units.
