November 5, 2007

Hybrid vehicle sales up 30 per cent in October in the U.S.


Washington, D.C. - Reported sales of hybrids in the U.S. climbed 30 per cent in October 2007, compared to sales in October 2006, according to a report by the Green Car Congress. Total sales of 24,443 units were reported for the month, less sales of hybrid vehicles from GM, which does not break them out separately.

According to figures from Autodata, overall light duty vehicle sales in the U.S. rose 1.2 per cent in October 2007 to 1,231,575 units; the results push the market share of hybrids to 1.98 per cent, after a drop over the prior two months.

The Toyota Prius had its best October yet, with 13,158 units, an increase of 50.7 per cent over October 2006. The Camry Hybrid was up 25 per cent to 3,511 units, representing 10.4 per cent of all Camry models sold, while the Highlander Hybrid was down 63.7 per cent to 596 units, representing 6.2 per cent of all Highlanders sold.

The LS 600h sold 175 units in its third month of sales, representing 5.9 per cent of all combined LS sales, while the RX 400h climbed 12.3 per cent to 1,392 units, or 17.5 per cent of all RX 350/400h sales. The GS 450h sold 71 units, a drop of 59.9 per cent, but still representing 87.7 per cent of combined GS 430/450h sales.

The Honda Civic Hybrid sold 2,286 units, down two units from October 2006, and accounting for 9.6 per cent of all Civic models sold in October 2007, while the Accord Hybrid was down 15.3 per cent to 243 units, representing 0.8 per cent of Accord sales.

Ford had a 30 per cent increase in sales of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids, with 2,084 units representing 14.1 per cent of brand sales. Nissan, which sells the Altima Hybrid in eight states, posted 927 units, accounting for 4.3 per cent of all Altima sales in October.