Failure To Deliver? Hybrids Sales Continue To Fall At Accelerated Rate

Despite the region's eco-friendly image, the appetite for fuel-efficient hybrid cars in the Bay Area appears to be on the decline.

According to R.L. Polk & Co., which analyzes the auto industry, new hybrid-car registrations in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area have steadily declined since peaking in 2007. That year in the region, there were new 27,292 registrations of hybrid cars, which are more fuel-efficient than cars that run only on gasoline. By 2009, that number had dropped 36%, to 17,575 registrations. This year through May, there have been 6,306 registrations of hybrid cars in the Bay Area, Polk reports.

The falloff mirrors a national trend. Hit by the recession, hybrid car registrations nationwide also peaked in 2007, at 350,701, and fell around 17% to 288,952 last year, Polk says, as auto sales overall declined in the economic downturn.





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thetruth01 - 8/23/2010 3:14:02 PM

+1 Boost

And of course, the facts are buried deeper in the story. "He notes that all car sales are down, post-recession, and that hybrids are no exception, adding that the rest of the country is just catching up to how popular hybrids have been in the Bay Area."

nice try tho, WSJ and 009. :)

BTW, summer has finally arrived in the Bay Area, took a Gen2 Prius out for a nice jaunt to wine country yesterday, averaged 45mpg in spirited driving (had to get it back on time!)

quizz - 8/24/2010 11:47:16 AM

-1 Boost

LOL "spirited driving", seriously? Without a manual, proper suspension and sticky tires, how spirited can it really get in wine country?

sdcarguy - 8/23/2010 3:14:02 PM

+2 Boost

Didn't all new car registrations peak in 2007 (in the Bay Area)? Was this normalized with all car sales?

thetruth01 - 8/23/2010 3:14:51 PM

+3 Boost

of course it wasn't, how boring would the facts be?

FanboyOfTheTruth - 8/23/2010 6:34:40 PM

+2 Boost

Love how 009 thinks people are dumb enough to fall for his obvious antics. Even on this joke of a website your jokes are getting old, 009.

synchronicityii - 8/23/2010 6:59:11 PM

+5 Boost

009 is failing to meet even the minimal standards of journalism we expect from the blogging community.

My politics are different from 009's. I have no problem with that. And if 009 wants to start a political blog where he can espouse those beliefs, great. But this is an auto news blog, not a political blog. I expect my auto news writers to stick to auto news. Just like I expect my political writers to stick to politics*.

* -- With the lone exception of PJ O'Rourke, who seems to be able to write about both cars and politics with equal dexterity -- and I'm on the opposite side of the political spectrum from him.

thstone - 8/23/2010 8:09:37 PM

+4 Boost

This is easy: cheap gas combined with hybrids being priced higher than their petrol-only counterparts = slower sales.

als723 - 8/23/2010 9:39:52 PM

+3 Boost

It's not hard to figure out. Because of the economy people are much less liquid than they were... gas is not unreasonable, and the additional cost of ownership isn't significant enough to justify the added price of the vehicle. When either hybrids are $1,000 more than the petrol version, or gas is $4.00+/gallon, people will start their hybrid quest once again. The reason why the Prius does so well is because it does receive great MPG figures, and there is not a stand alone version.

nguyenvuminh - 8/24/2010 1:02:33 AM

+3 Boost

009 - you're too lame, even by Orange County Republican standards

Whelan - 8/24/2010 9:45:07 AM

-1 Boost

Audi just cracked at Hybrids in their latest commercial. Some Green Police run around arresting people for incandescent lightbulbs and clean cars. They come upon I believe either an A3 or A4 Avant with TDI and let him fly past all the other cars. Pretty good ad, but they still are not promoting or putting more diesel tech in the US market.

US needs more diesels.

quizz - 8/24/2010 11:48:29 AM

+3 Boost

Hey, check out if SUV registrations also declined? How about 4 door sedan registrations?

knowitall1985 - 8/24/2010 3:13:01 PM

+2 Boost

As soon as gas prices go up so will hybrid sales.