The number of available hybrid vehicles continues to grow, but even with more models joining the gas-electric segment, sales are slowly slipping. November sales results show that there are now 15 hybrid passenger cars and 12 gas-electric light trucks on the market. This compares to 13 cars and just nine trucks of the hybrid flavor a year ago. However, as the segment becomes increasingly crowded, the numbers show that buyers are no more motivated to select a hybrid vehicle than they were in year’s past.
Sales of hybrids totaled 245,387 units in November, down from 265,478 a year ago; a decline of 7.6 percent overall. The data shows that new hybrid vehicle introductions don’t boost gas-electric sales. Rather, they typically steal sales from other established vehicles in the same segment. For example, Honda’s all-new 2011 CR-Z tallied 4,373 sales in November, while Civic Hybrid deliveries dropped by 56.1 percent.
All is not gloomy for hybrid vehicles. The Ford Fusion gas-electric gained ground with sales shooting up 38.1 percent this November compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the Toyota Prius once again maintained its spot as the best-selling hybrid in the U.S.
