Published November 2, 2011
The HybridCars.com monthly sales dashboard is a collaboration of HybridCars.com and Baum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm focusing on automotive issues including the hybrid and electric vehicle market.
Hybrid sales as a share of the total market in October were just shy of 2 percent, their best performance since March, just before the supply shortages began and modestly below 2010 shares where supply was not an issue.
Despite a natural disaster, Prius sales this year are above 125,000 units.
The Toyota Prius had its best month since April, which was when supply constraints began. Even after the impact of Japan’s tsunami, Prius sales have broken 100,000 units for the year and will likely be well above 125,000 for the entire year.
Prius sales in 2010 totaled 140,928. Toyota's share of the hybrid market so far this year is 64 percent as compared to 69 percent last year, thus making clear the importance of Toyota's products to this market. In the coming year, there will be additional products, but Toyota will maintain its leadership position with the launch of the Prius C and V and the plug-in version of the Prius.
There is some concern going forward due to the floods in Thailand which may affect the availability of electronic content used in hybrid vehicles including the Prius.
Hybrid sales increased by 14 percent as compared to last month, although they were still down by 17 percent from year-ago levels.
Diesel sales continued to climb as compared to last year, although a drop in Jetta sales in October reduced the rate of growth of previous months. Mercedes diesel volumes were very strong this month.
Note the inclusion of a new vehicles this month, the hybrid Buick Lacrosse and diesel Mercedes S350 BlueTec.
Sales of the Volt increased based on better availability reflecting production changes at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. GM maintains that its initial goal of 10,000 Volt sales in 2011 is still possible, necessitating the sale of 5,000 additional in November and December or 2,500 per month. Clearly, GM expects availability of these vehicles to improve quickly.
October 2011 Hybrid Car Sales Numbers
Hybrids sold in the U.S. (October 2011):20,056
Hybrid Take-Rate:1.97 percent
US hybrid sales for September 2011
| Model | Units | vs. last month | vs. September 2010 | CYTD | vs. CYTD 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Prius | 11,008 | 18.0% | -6.2% | 104,251 | -9.4% |
| Hyundai Sonata | 2,001 | -51.6% | n/a | 14,042 | n/a |
| Lexus CT 200h | 1,511 | 4.6% | n/a | 10,363 | n/a |
| Lexus RX450h | 861 | 32.5% | -38.6% | 8,562 | -30.3% |
| Ford Fusion | 857 | 55.3% | -48.3% | 9,405 | -47.6% |
| Ford Escape | 573 | 1.2% | -25.1% | 7,878 | -17.4% |
| Honda Insight | 492 | -3.9% | -75.0% | 13,618 | -13.9% |
| Honda Civic | 480 | 57.4% | -27.5% | 3,635 | -37.5% |
| Linc. MKZ Hybrid | 477 | 4.8% | 30.3% | 4,830 | 1,184% |
| Toyota Camry | 333 | 45.4% | -72.1% | 6,714 | -45.7% |
| Buick LaCrosse | 297 | n/a | n/a% | 297 | n/a |
| Honda CR-Z | 289 | -46.2% | -79.6% | 10,461 | 212.4% |
| Toy. Highlander | 239 | 9.6% | -68.4% | 3,664 | -36.7% |
| Lexus HS 250h | 205 | -11.3% | -74.15% | 2,383 | -72.8% |
| Porsche Cayenne | 107 | -4.5% | 2,575% | 1,342 | 33,450% |
| Chevy Silverado | 49 | 34.7% | -86.3% | 769 | -55.3% |
| Altima | 49 | -77.4% | -88.9% | 3,147 | -44.4% |
| Mazda Tribute | 38 | 18.8% | -43.3% | 412 | -26.6% |
| Chevy Tahoe | 35 | 3,400.0% | -47.0% | 451 | -63.4% |
| Infiniti M35h | 33 | -26.7% | n/a | 278 | n/a |
| Cad. Escalade | 30 | 114.3% | -67.4% | 710 | -29.0% |
| GMC Yukon Hybrid | 23 | 43.8% | -73.6% | 528 | -49.0% |
| Lexus GS450h | 19 | 5.6% | 34.5% | 227 | -11.7% |
| VW Touareg Hybrid | 18 | 28.6% | n/a | 340 | n/a |
| BMW Hybrid 7 | 9 | 43.8% | 50.0% | 262/td> | 285.3% |
| Mercedes S400 | 9 | 59.1% | -92.1% | 253 | -71.1% |
| Lexus LS600hL | 9 | 12% | -11.1% | 62 | -31.1% |
| GMC Sierra | 4 | 42.9% | -87.9% | 146 | -65.2% |
| BMW X6 | 2 | -50.0% | n/a | 41 | -82.4% |
| Chevy Malibu Hybrid | - | n/a | -100.0% | 24 | -93.8% |
| Mercedes ML450 | - | n/a | -100.0% | 1 | -99.9% |
| All hybrids | 20,056 | 13.8% | -17.2% | 211,597 | -6.0% |
| All vehicles | 1,017,332 | -3.1% | 7.5% | 10,503,526 | 10.0% |
October 2011 Plug-in Electric Car Sales Numbers
Plug-in cars sold in the U.S. (October 2011):1,974
Plug-in Take-Rate:0.19%
U.S. plug-in electric sales for October 2011
| Model | Units | vs. last month | vs. September 2010 | CYTD | vs. CYTD 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Volt | 1,108 | 53.3% | n/a | 5,003 | n/a |
| Nissan LEAF | 849 | -17.7% | n/a | 8,048 | n/a |
| Smart ED | 17 | n/a | n/a | 105 | n/a |
| All plug-in cars | 1,974 | 12.4% | n/a | 13,156 | n/a |
| All vehicles | 1,049,754 | -1.8% | 9.8% | 9,485,612 | 10.4% |
October 2011 Clean Diesel Car Sales Numbers
Clean Diesels sold in the U.S. (September 2011):7,663
Diesel Take-Rate:0.73%
U.S. clean diesel sales for October 2011
| Model | Units | vs. last month | vs. September 2010 | CYTD | vs. CYTD 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VW Jetta | 3,631 | -12.7% | -19.3% | 44,714 | -21.0% |
| Mercedes ML320 | 868 | 141.1% | 192.3% | 3,424 | 60.0% |
| Mercedes GL320 | 820 | 192.9% | 131.6% | 4,251 | 51.0% |
| Volkswagen Golf | 710 | 2.3% | 49.2% | 8,286 | 80.0% |
| BMW X5 | 460 | -24.6% | -38.6% | 5,491 | -14.0% |
| VW Touareg | 387 | 7.8% | 325.3% | 2,578 | 90.0% |
| Audi Q7 | 302 | 20.3% | 5.2% | 3,195 | 26.0% |
| BMW 335d | 281 | 37.4% | 3,7% | 2,936 | -3.0% |
| Audi A3 | 184 | -21.4% | -36.3% | 3,013 | 13.0% |
| Mercedes E320 | 138 | -45.0% | 39.2% | 2,370 | 601.0% |
| Mercedes R320 | 30 | 76.5% | -18.9% | 436 | 44.0% |
| Mercedes S350 | 74 | n/a | n/a | 74 | n/a |
| Jeep Gr Cherokee | - | n/a | -100.0% | 152 | -88% |
| All clean diesels | 7,885 | 2.9% | 0.7% | 81,662 | 27.2% |
| All vehicles | 1,017,332 | -3.1% | 7.5% | 10,503,526 | 10.0% |
