Hybrid And EV Owners Trading For Guzzler SUVs - Was It REALLY About Being Green Or Pinching Pennies Over Gas?

Car buyers are trading in hybrid and electric cars for SUVs at a higher rate than ever before, according to a new analysis from car-buying platform Edmunds.com. The analysis offers a surprising look at how today's gas prices are drawing hybrid and EV owners toward gas-guzzling vehicles at a much more accelerated pace than in recent years.

According to Edmunds.com, about 22 percent of people who have traded in their hybrids and EVs in 2015 bought a new SUV. The number represents a sharp increase from 18.8 percent last year, and it is nearly double the rate of 11.9 percent just three years ago. Overall, only 45 percent of this year's hybrid and EV trade-ins have gone toward the purchase of another alternative fuel vehicle, down from just over 60 percent in 2012. Never before have loyalty rates for alt-fuel vehicles fallen below 50 percent.

"For better or worse, it looks like many hybrid and EV owners are driven more by financial motives rather than a responsibility to the environment," says Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "Three years ago, when gas was at near-record highs, it was a lot easier to rationalize the price premiums on alternative fuel vehicles. But with today's gas prices as low as they are, the math just doesn't make a very compelling case."

To underscore the point, Edmunds calculates that at the peak average national gas price of $4.67/gallon in October 2012, it would take five years to break even on the $3,770 price difference between a Toyota Camry LE Hybrid ($28,230) and a Toyota Camry LE ($24,460). At today's national average gas price of $2.27/gallon, it would take twice as much time (10.5 years) to close the same gap.

Edmunds' analysis comes at a time when overall sales of alternative vehicles have continued to slide. EVs and hybrids accounted for just 2.7 percent of all new car sales in the first quarter of 2015, down from 3.3 percent during that same period last year. The share of SUVs, meanwhile, has increased from 31.8 percent in Q1 2014 to 34.2 percent in Q1 2015.

TheSteve - 4/24/2015 1:57:35 PM

+3 Boost

Money motivate lots of people. When North American gas prices dropped big-time in October 2014, we got a chance to test the belief whether people were buying gas-efficient or no-gas vehicles for purely economic reasons, or for other reasons.

As we can see with the last 6+ months' worth of data:
- Gas prices way down
- EV sales way down
- Hybrid sales way down
- Sales of more powerful, less fuel-efficient gasoline powered vehicles: UP!

Interpret that as you will, but I interpret that to mean a whole lot of people were merely paying lip-service to the save-the-planet bandwagon, when their true incentive was financial. They're now doing what they really wanted to do, because lower gas prices lead them to believe they can afford it.

When fuel gas prices return to all-time highs and go even higher, these folks with gas guzzling cars and trucks will be crying about how it's hurting them, but they won't make the connection that their own decision set them up for their own hurt.

trmckin - 4/25/2015 11:01:20 AM

+1 Boost

Of course it was about money. For most it always is. As it stands today, many have to make a lot of compromises to drive available EV and Hybrid vehicles. I think question goes back to how long do people own cars. The gas prices started skyrocketing in 2007-2008. 6-7 years ago... I know for my family, we typically drive our vehicles 6-7 years before trading in. Averaging about 15-20k miles a year on each. As it stands today with cheaper gas, fuel efficiency certainly goes down in the minds of many buyers because you don't have to compromise comfort/styling/performance when prices are low. So... You buy what you want with the hopes gas prices stay relatively stable for the next half decade or so. Or.. You make the compromise now and drive a weird looking EV/hybrid to avoid the inevitable price swings in fuel cost.. You also have to factor in the cost of an EV. How much do you really save? Maybe people that are dumping their hybrid/EVs are happy with the real world cost savings. Technology is still improving...

trmckin - 4/25/2015 11:03:42 AM

+1 Boost

Aren't happy with real world cost savings^. Edit