Washington, D.C. - Reported sales of hybrids in the U.S. in September dropped 8.9 per cent to 20,836 units when compared to September 2007, the lowest September sales volume since 2005, according to a report by the Green Car Congress. Overall sales of light-duty vehicles in the U.S. in September dropped 26.6 per cent year-on-year; hybrids accounted for 2.2 per cent of the new vehicle market share for the month.
Sales of the Prius dropped 13 per cent to 10,873 from September 2007, which Toyota said is due to continuing limited availability. The Prius will be built at a plant in Mississippi in late 2010 to help meet demand. Camry Hybrid sales were down 33.6 per cent to 2,785 units, representing 9.4 per cent of all Camry models sold in the month; total Camry sales were down 27 per cent. The Highlander Hybrid rose to 921 units, up from 193 in September 2007, and represented 16.1 per cent of all Highlander sales, which dropped a total of 30 per cent from 2007, to 5,729 units.
The Lexus RX400h dropped 24 per cent to 744 units, representing 16.0 per cent of all RX models sold. The LS 600h sold 47 units, a drop of 76 per cent, and representing 3.8 per cent of all LS models sold, while the GS 450h sold 29 units, a drop of 60 per cent and 3.0 per cent of all GS models sold.
The Honda Civic Hybrid dropped 3.4 per cent to 2,020 units in September, representing 9.4 per cent of all Civic models sold. Civic sales dropped 13 per cent overall to 21,577 units. There were no posted sales of the discontinued Accord Hybrid.
Combined sales of the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner hybrid, a model not sold in Canada, were down 40 per cent to 990 units, representing 8.9 per cent of the total combined sales of the two. Total sales of all Escape and Mariner models were down 20 per cent, to 11,133 units.
Nissan sold 470 units of the Altima hybrid, a model not available in all states, down 38 per cent from 2007, and representing 2.9 per cent of all Altima models sold.
General Motors reported sales of the two-mode hybrid Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade SUVs reached 1,101 units, representing 8.8 per cent of total sales of the three models. The Saturn Vue hybrid sold 443 units, or 5.6 per cent of all Vue sales. The Malibu hybrid sold 382 units, representing 1.9 per cent of all Malibu sales, while the Saturn Aura sold 31 units, or 0.5 per cent of all Aura sales.
