Surprised? You shouldn’t be. We are after all, in the worse economic downturn since the Great Depression. So what can we make out from the gloomy news? FUD, we say and another way to sale news. Now, let’s look at the positive aspects.
The gist is that it is all too easy to lose track of the positive improvements coming our way. Reading the news is a daily doze of negative story that raises concern, which ultimately frightens people away from purchases. It almost makes you think that reading the news is the worse thing a “patriot” could do.
Hybrid Sales Are Down! Yes, so what? Everything is pretty much down. Oh, you mean we should look at the news in context to the overall economy? Good point, thank you for pointing it out. While it’s true that hybrid, HEV sales are down, it is not surprising. The reports are coming in, Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM and Nissan hybrids in the US dropped 45.5% year-on-year in April to 21,735. A glimpse of good news, the Honda Insight and the Ford Fusion and Milan hybrids reported full month sales. Which proves that consumers want them and will do the math. But car makers shouldn’t be upset, many people still want pure EVs instead of the marginal benefits HEVs offer.
April, Good To Hybrids. April was a good month for HEV sales. For instance, Ford sold a record number of regular Fusions 18,321, 1,000 of which were HEVs.
Ultimately, let’s keep our eyes on where the market is going. Hybrids lead to plug-in hybrids which lead to pure electric vehicle. If sales go down for HEV, it could mean people are still waiting for pure EVs. Just a thought.
Source: GreenCarCongress, HybridCars.