Hybrid and VW Diesel Sales Analysis: Prius Outsells Insight 8 to 1, Jetta TDI 4 to 1

by Paul Niedermeyer

November 5th, 2009 5:46 PM

hybrid and vw diesel sales analysis prius outsells insight 8 to 1 jetta tdi 4 to 1

Hybrid sales in October outpaced the market, increasing 11.4% over October 2008. The heavy lifter as usual, was Toyota, up 15%; Toyota’s hybrids now represent 77% of the total US hybrid market, which is 2.9% of the total market. The Prius continues to dominate the whole hybrid sector, with a 55% market share, and sales of 13,496 units. Prius outsold the Honda Insight by an 8 to 1 margin.

Other Toyota hybrids showed mixed results: Camry: down 50%; Highlander: down 32%; Lexus RX: up 155%; GS: down 77%; LS: down 62%. But the new Lexus HS 250 sold a very respectable 1,527 units, only slightly less than the Insight.

Honda’s Insight (1,739 units) is a sales dud, only modestly improving on last year’s Civic hybrid numbers. Seems there’s more to the Prius’ success than its body shape. The Civic Hybrid (down 85%) is becoming irrelevant.

In light of the highly-hyped new Fusion/Milan hybrids (1,333 units), Ford’s 14.3% increase in hybrid sales looks feeble. Escape/Mariner hybrid sales dripped 53%. This continues the raise the question as to whether Ford’s hybrid program is anything other than a PR/EPA/Govt. fleet sales gambit, with volumes limited purposely because Ford’s hybrid costs likely exceed incremental revenue.

GM sold 1,159 hybrids, down 23%, out of its arsenal of various hybrid technology systems. Nissan sold an irrelevant 229 Altima hybrids.

VW sold 4,008 TDI units in October, which represents 24% of total VW sales. TDI share of models sales is: Jetta SportsWagon: 90%; Tuareg: 45%; Jetta Sedan: 26%; Golf: 19%. Total Jetta sales: 3658. VW’s total diesel sales represent an amount equal to 16% of the hybrid market.

[Green Car Congress]

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PeteMoran on Nov 08, 2009
You find huge deposits of hydrocarbon deposits on Titan but no dead dinos or old rotting vedgetation. Sure, look hard enough and the ingredients of cheese are there too. I can certainly see why so many geologists on oil company pay rolls keep perpetrating myths. Oh yes, we're surrounded by conspirators. Did you check under the bed this morning? Those within the oil industry want nothing more than to destroy it, inside the next 30 years preferably.

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Stewart Dean on Nov 08, 2009
You find huge deposits of hydrocarbon deposits on Titan but no dead dinos or old rotting vegetation. The reason for that is that hydrogen is the building block of the universe and there's a lot of carbon,too and they get together a lot. The process is abiotic in the sense that biological processes as we think of them are probably non-existent in crucibles of most stars are planets. Gas giant planets like Saturn and Jupiter have atmospheres largely comprised of methane and, yes, it's a hydrocarbon gas and yes, no dinos. But. That doesn't mean that if you use up a substance that has an combustion energy potential (like oil) that more of it will be magically made because the Creator likes us and automobiles. The only thing that would make more of it would be for energy to be reapplied to the building blocks again, as it was before and since the Cretaceous to make more of that substance.

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