Washington, D.C. – Reported sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. rose by 21 per cent in November 2009 from November 2008, according to the Green Car Congress. Of the 746,928 new light-duty vehicles sold in November, 20,003 were hybrids.
Overall light-duty sales were flat for the month, when compared with 746,789 units sold in November 2008. Reported hybrid sales accounted for 2.7 per cent of the new vehicle market share, up from 2.2 per cent in November 2008, but down slightly from 2.9 per cent in October 2009. For the first 11 months of 2009, hybrids have held a 2.8 per cent market share.
The reported figures do not include sales of the new Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid, as the company does not break out its sales by powertrain.
Toyota reported 14,473 hybrid sales in November 2009, up from 16.3 per cent in November 2008. Of that, 9,617 were Prius, up 11 per cent. The Camry Hybrid sold 1,465 units, down 33 per cent from the year before, and representing 5.3 per cent of all Camry models sold. The Highlander hybrid sold 722 units, down 20 per cent, for 11.6 per cent of all Highlander models sold.
Lexus sold 1,407 units of the new HS 250h. The RX450h sold 1,210 units, almost double the 624 sold in November 2008, and representing 15.3 per cent of all RX models sold. The GS hybrid sold 37 units, down 11.9 per cent, for 6.2 per cent of all GS sales. The LS hybrid sold 15 units, down 60 per cent, for 1.4 per cent of all LS sales.
Ford reported sales of 2,361 hybrid units, up 73.5 per cent from November 2008. Total Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales were down 0.2 per cent to 118,536 units. The Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner hybrids sold 960 units, down 30 per cent, for 5.6 per cent of all Escape/Mariner sales. The new Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan hybrids sold 1,401 units, for 8.7 per cent of all Fusion/Milan sales.
Honda sold 1,646 hybrids in November, up 57.8 per cent. Total vehicle sales were down three per cent to 74,003 units. The Civic Hybrid sold 243 units, down 77 per cent, for 1.8 per cent of all Civic sales, but the new Insight sold 1,403 units.
General Motors reported a total of 1,020 hybrids, down 25.5 per cent. Total light-duty vehicle sales were down 1.8 per cent to 150,676 units. The two-mode Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade hybrid models were down 36 per cent to 489 units, representing 4.7 per cent of combined model sales for those vehicles. The two-mode Sierra and Silverado pickups dropped 52 per cent to 156 units, representing 0.51 per cent of models sold.
The Saturn Vue mild hybrid posted sales of 134 units, down 31 per cent for 9.8 per cent of all Vues sold. The Malibu hybrid sold 212 units, up 371 per cent, for 1.9 per cent of all Malibu models sold, while its sister Saturn Aura hybrid sold 29 units, down 17 per cent, for 2.0 per cent of all Aura sales.
Nissan sold 503 Altima Hybrids, up 42.5 per cent from 2008, and representing 3.2 per cent of all Altima sales. Total Nissan sales were up 20.8 per cent to 56,288 units. The Altima Hybrid is only available in eight states.
