Are US Hybrid Sales Peaking Already?

cartechboy (2660665) writes The Toyota Prius is pretty darn popular, especially in California. One might think that hybrid sales are on the rise as gas prices continue to fluctuate, but it seems hybrid sales in the U.S. might be peaking. Researchers at IHS Automotive found that U.S. hybrid sales haven't kept pace with the rest of the market. In the automotive world, conventional wisdom states that adding a model to a brand or segment will increase sales--but that hasn't happened with hybrids. The number of hybrid offerings has almost doubled from 24 in 2009 to 47 in 2014--but U.S. hybrid sales haven't dramatically increased. In fact, hybrid market share actually declined from 2009 to 2010, and then again from 2013 to 2014. So if consumers aren't buying hybrids, what are they buying? It seems some hybrid early adopters are now switching to plug-in hybrids or electric cars stating that these models are just nicer to drive.

I've been saying this for years.

[ScentCone]

It was inevitable: Peak Hybrid had to happen. It's getting more and more difficult to extract crude hybrid from the lower levels of the tax code, which makes it more expensive to dole out. And, they're running out of room in the Whole Foods parking lot, where things are getting real, man.

Re: I can't buy one

[wagnerrp]

Series hybrids are... not hybrids. Any motor drive is going to have to have a considerable energy buffer. The only real difference between the "series hybrid" and the old diesel-electric systems we've had for decades on trains, ships, and submarines is the size of that buffer. The only reason for the term to exist is because "hybrid" became a buzzword, and so existing systems wanted to join in the publicity.