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US Sales of Hybrids Drop Year-on-Year in May 2008
4 June 2008
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| Total reported hybrid sales in the US. Click to enlarge. |
Reported US sales of hybrids in May 2008 declined 20% from May 2007 to 35,943 units. This drop is largely, but not solely, due to a 37% drop in sales of the Prius to 15,011 units in May 2008 from 24,009 units in May 2007. Toyota characterized the decline as due to “limited availability”.
The May 2008 figures also include sales of the Lexus LS600h and five hybrids from GM (Tahoe and Yukon two-modes, Saturn VUE, Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu.) All percentage comparisons here are by total sales volume, not by adjusted day sales rate.
Total May 2008 light-duty vehicle sales in the US declined 10.7% to 1,396,965 units, according to Autodata. Reported sales of hybrids represented 2.6% of new vehicle sales—a decrease from the April 2008 high of 3.2% as well as below the 2.88% share of May 2007.
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| Market share of reported hybrid sales in the US. Click to enlarge. |
Toyota Motor. Toyota’s Camry Hybrid posted 5,999 units, a 12% decline from May 2007, representing 11.7% of all Camry’s sold. Total Camry sales increased 2.3% (by total volume) in May 2008 to 51,291 units.
The Highlander Hybrid posted 2,644 units, a decrease of 20% from May 2007, representing 24.4% of all Highlanders sold. Total Highlander sales declined 9.6% in May 2008 year-on-year to 10,841 units
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| Hybrids as a component of brand sales. Click to enlarge. |
Sales of the Lexus Rx 400h rose 23% to 2,155 units, representing 26.7% of all Rx models sold. Total Rx sales dropped 17.5% year-on-year. The GS 450h sold 98 units, a decrease of 46% from May 2007, representing 5.7% of all GX models sold. Total GX sales dropped 24.3% The high-end LS 600h sold 112 units, representing 5.3% of all LS models.
Honda. Sales of the Honda Civic Hybrid climbed 3% to 4,676 units in May 2008, representing 8.8% of all Civics sold. Civic sales in total climbed 33.2% by volume to a record 53,299 units in May 2008.
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| Hybrids as a percentage of total OEM sales. Click to enlarge. |
The Accord Hybrid posted 16 units, a 96% drop from May 2007, representing 0.04% of all Accords sold. Accord sales in total climbed 37% year-on-year to 43,728 units.
Ford. Sales of the hybrid Escape and Mariner dropped 26% in May 2008 to 2,378 units, representing 11.3% of all Escape and Mariner sales. Total Escape and Mariner sales dropped 10% in May 20008 year-on-year to 20,986 units.
Nissan. Sales of the Altima Hybrid almost doubled, climbing 96% to 1,607 units, representing 4.7% of all Altima sales. Total sales of Altima models hit 34,428 units, the best month in the vehicle’s history.
GM. GM reported sales of the two-mode Tahoe and Yukon SUVs of a combined 589 units, representing 5.5% of total Tahoe and Yukon sales. The Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid with the GM Hybrid System (Belt Alternator Starter) sold 282 units, representing 1.8% of all Malibus sold. The Saturn VUE Greenline Hybrid sold 340 units, representing 4.1% of total VUE sales. The Saturn Aura sold 36 units, representing 0.7% of total Aura sales.
For the calendar year through the end of May, GM has sold 3,227 hybrid vehicles—i.e., May’s 1,247 units represent 39% of the hybrids sold so far this year.
June 4, 2008 in Hybrids, Sales | Permalink | Comments (37) | TrackBack (0)
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According to Dailytech, GM sold only 1100 hybrid SUVs the first five months of 2008. Their effort to green wash SUVs is not working.
Posted by: Lulu | Jun 4, 2008 3:17:13 PM
Sounds like Toyota is depleting Prius inventories in anticipation of the new model year, whenever that arbitrarily arrives.
Posted by: Healthy Breeze | Jun 4, 2008 4:13:00 PM
According to these graphs, the non-hybrid Civic outsold the non-hybrid Camry. The Accord was also very close. I thought the Camry consistently outsold all of them significantly.
Posted by: Doug | Jun 4, 2008 4:13:52 PM
The sales are on pace with the number they are planning to send to the US this year (just a few more than the 183800 last year).
Toyota has averaged 16000 per month so far, and that will continue to be the case through the end of the year. No matter what the demand may be, they are maxed out on production and can't increase it until next year.
Posted by: | Jun 4, 2008 4:23:13 PM
craziest part about that graph is the number of idiots still buying new non-hybrid tahoes.
who are these people? and i don't buy that whole "i need it to drive my two children around". having children is not something that started in the mid-90's. neither are after school sports. people got by for so long without 8000lbs of monster truck..
i know it's not scientific but i like to observe vehicle occupancy. i've found that regardless of the car size and more or less regardless of the time of day, average occupancy is close to one. why do you need a tahoe to drive yourself around?
Posted by: marc | Jun 4, 2008 5:01:30 PM
Nissan really needs to find a way to sell (at a profit) the Altima Hybrid in more than 8 states. It's a wonderful car, it's sold mostly by word of mouth by happy owners.
Posted by: steve | Jun 4, 2008 7:02:03 PM
steve,
The problem with the Altima Hybrid is the same as for the Civic Hybrid. They're both "place holders." Nissan and Honda want to show that they're in the hybrid game. But Toyota took a strong early lead, so the followers lose money for every car they sell. With high gas prices they could be selling three or more cars for every one they can make.
If, as everybody expects, gas prices stay high, that situation will rectify itself. By 2010 we'll have more hybrid choices. Most GCC posters could see this coming way before the general public. Thus the frustration with the slowness of auto OEMs to commit to hybrids. Finally, I think they got it. But it still takes years to bring out new models. Patience is hard.
Posted by: JamesEE | Jun 4, 2008 8:31:45 PM
The GM 2 mode hybrid is a technological marvel but a marketplace disaster. Part of the problem is the additional cost for the hybrid version is about $8,000. Also, the customers who want hybrids the most are people who buy small and midsize vehicles.
Posted by: RCA | Jun 4, 2008 9:24:10 PM
@marc:
Yeah, people used to drive their kids around in station wagons. Minivans are a better alternative than an SUV today if you want to drive kids around. Most SUV drivers prefer them because they are insecure, and sitting up high makes them feel powerful and invulnerable. Take the Hummer as an extreme example; how insecure would a guy have to be to drive a fake military vehicle?
Posted by: George | Jun 4, 2008 10:08:58 PM
@George
Your comments are not only incorrect but they are also very adolescent. 'He drives a big truck, he must be compensating'....some people like baseball others like musicals and then some like both. Time to grow up and deal with those anger and jealousy issues.
Minivans are just bad ugly and I hate the way they drive. The new station wagons of descent size are looking better than they used to, shame that they don't get any better mpg's than suv's.
Lets not make excuses, Toyota should have done a better job of meeting demand, the writing has been on the wall for a while now.
Posted by: Joseph | Jun 4, 2008 10:55:43 PM
I really hate the "SUV = Bad" Stereotype. There are a lot of folks driving around in Pickup Trucks that never haul anything - ever. But no one "picks" on Pickup Trucks. Why? I thinnk in many cases the Picup truck make less sense than an SUV. At least an SUV can haul people and then be reconfigured to haul stuff.
Go to Europe - How do they manage to get along without pickup trucks? Really - no BS - they have almost no full size Pickup trucks, and almost never owned by privater parties.
A lot of people in Europe use Utility Trailers... It is a good solution, but the average US Driver wouldn't know how to safely tow a trailer, so let's not propose that as a soltution, unless we up the level of training, skill, and knowledge required to get a driver's license in the USA.
Are there plenty of people who have SUVs or Pickups who don't need them? Yes - lots. Are there also married couples and single people living in 4+ bedroom homes that don't need them? Yes.
It is all relative. And, no, I do not currently own a pickup or an SUV, but I have owned both in the past when I needed them. When the need went away, so did the vehicle.
MiniVans aren't cool, but many can haul 8 people or a few sheets of plywood and still get 24+ Mpg on the freeway. For many they are a soution.
I think the point is to not be wasteful.
Just as an aside, the Chevrolet Suburban was around long before the term SUV was invented. It is the longest running nameplate in automotive history - GM has built the Chevrolet Suburban every year since 1950something... It has stood the test of time. A purpose built vehicle for a specific market segment.
Posted by: WaltD | Jun 5, 2008 12:05:44 AM
The link below describes very well, why automakers can't build more hybrids. China has virtually stopped the export of lanthanum, a rare earth metal that you need for NiMH-batteries. It will last until 2010 and 2011 before Lynas and Arafura, two australian companies, will start a rare earth production outside of China. The small Mountain Pass mine in California can't help much to lower the shortage.
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=43162
Posted by: NNZ | Jun 5, 2008 12:27:23 AM
Joseph - station wagons blow away SUV's on mileage and there is nothing adolescent about considering the psychologic reasons people buy cars. There is really no getting around it - people buy cars that make them "feel" a certain way. So if people feel important or powerful driving a particular vehicle - so be it.
If certain people "need" to get that feeling from a car - and the practice is wasteful - then expect to get the ire of more reasonable folk. It is not necessarily about anger and jealousy
Driving a wasteful vehicle is a crime for humanity.
Posted by: 300TTto545 | Jun 5, 2008 2:51:15 AM
"This drop is largely, but not solely, due to a 37% drop in sales of the Prius to 15,011 units in May 2008 from 24,009 units in May 2007. Toyota characterized the decline as due to “limited availability”.
You can't sell what you don't have.
I suspect the holdup is lack of batteries, and lack of raw materials to make the batteries. The problems are mostly due to China cleaning up it's mining practices.
Toyota is a long range planner, and no doubt they have an alternate plan in mind.
Each year, Hybrid monthly production has increased by about 5000 units or so. Sales may go up or down, but supply limitations are the deciding marketing factor.
We can't buy what is not available.
As for GM placing their hybrid technology into unsellable SUV's? Insanity. People who want fuel efficient green technology to show themselves responsible to the environment aren't the ones who want an overcompensating monstrosity to show they can afford to be wasteful.
Posted by: | Jun 5, 2008 4:51:28 AM
People generally drive the car that makes them feel good. As a 200 lb, 6 foot 2 inch male, i prefer a larger vehicle. I drove a honda civic for years but have certainly enjoyed my jeep cherokee much, much more.
however, with gas so expensive i wish i had my civic again, and that will probably be my next vehicle. The main reason i bought the jeep was safety...not being able to see ahead of the SUV in front of me.
But the bottom line is the price at the pump. So, i will gladly downsize in order to keep driving. I wish there was an all-electric available!
Can't come soon enough.
Posted by: danm | Jun 5, 2008 5:47:00 AM
All I want is a reasonably priced, slightly larger, more powereful Hummer that gets 100 mpg, and I want it now. Is that too much to ask? You engineers really need to get it in gear.
Posted by: Marketing Manager | Jun 5, 2008 7:18:38 AM
While statistics show people are buying less hybrids, they are also buying less SUV's. The town I'm in is offering set gas prices for two years with a purchase of an SUV. Not sure how they manage that, I think you get a card with the car, that keeps only charges the owner under $3.00 for fill-ups for two years.
Dagny McKinley
www.onnotextiles.com
organic apparel
Posted by: Dagny McKinley | Jun 5, 2008 7:50:27 AM
It's pretty obvious that the May sales dip is due to April's sales. You can't sell cars when you have to get on a waiting list to get them.
Posted by: Chip K | Jun 5, 2008 7:57:25 AM
Isn't it still "adolescent" to say that Minivan is ugly, so that's why people drive SUVs?
In any case, besides the "feel" of driving a vehicle help make purchasing decisions, so are the misconception of exterior size to interior size and safety. More than once people told me that SUV "X" is bigger than SUV "Y" just by looking at the outside of the vehicle, but then only admit that they are wrong when they see the measurements and actually sat inside "X". Same goes for Prius versus the Corolla.
The problem here is that so many have already made up their minds about certain vehicles that they would never even bother to test drive one, in order to make clear judgment in the first place.
If people can truly ignore the vanity factor in purchasing a vehicle, then by "needs" alone, hybrids and minivans should have been top choices for many consumers. But sadly, that is not the case, and that's just the market we have today.
While sales numbers for trucks and SUVs are down, it really still reflect that MOST Americans still prefer trucks and SUVs, but just aren't buying due to poor economic outlook. It may be true that high gas prices is here to stay, likely that every time there is a dip in price, sales of large vehicles will spike with it.
Posted by: Charles S | Jun 5, 2008 9:55:10 AM
As others have commented, Toyota and Honda can't make the Hybrid's fast enough. Unfortunately, the sales situation is changing faster than production plans can change for these manufacturers (in the short term) - production plans are set a year or more ahead it seems. Toyota increased Prius production by 50% (if memory serves) in 2007 and have annouced they'll do that again for 2009 (going from 300k to 450k or so). With Honda bringing out its 100,000 unit a year new Hybrid in 2009, hopefully things will get in a better position next year - but if oil doesn't come down, maybe not.
Posted by: Sasparilla | Jun 5, 2008 10:17:37 AM
having children is not something that started in the mid-90's. neither are after school sports.
Child seats are new. In the 70s we'd pile my two sisters and I plus a few neighbor kids in our mom's Pontiac Catalina. Four kids in back, two up front, whatever. Forget about seat belts this trip, we're only going across town.
Do that today and you get arrested. All kids under age 5-9 (depending on state) must sit in securely buckled car seats. Front seat air bags can turn a fender bender into a fatal accident for a child. Our '98 Camry's back seat had three belts but not enough space for three infant seats, so we had to sell it. Our next-door neighbor's kids go to the same school as ours, but we can't carpool because neither of our minivans hold all seven kids legally. My wife's Honda Pilot crossover theoretically seats eight, but the 3rd row is too narrow for three child seats so we're really limited to our four kids plus one other.
I don't mean to imply people buy full-size SUVs solely because of child-seat laws. But you do need a much bigger vehicle to legally transport a bunch of kids now than 20 years ago.
Posted by: doggydogworld | Jun 5, 2008 10:31:56 AM
Maybe Toyota decided to ship more Prius to Europe (high demand as well) instead of the US, since the revenue per Prius due to the significant drop of the Dollar is higher.
Posted by: globi | Jun 5, 2008 1:30:15 PM
doggy-
good call on the safety issue.
perhaps move to a system where if you drive a vehicle at less than full occupancy you are taxed for the difference between rated/actual? no reason for one person to be commanding an 8-seat behemoth for themselves.
by the way, the average household size per us census is around 2.57 people (we'll round up to 3 for argument's sake). assuming 2 of those are children in child seats, you still don't need anything bigger than a civic to transport them. so my point remains the same.
Posted by: marc | Jun 5, 2008 2:09:32 PM
Tough defending SUVs(& pickups) today, since it is the gas guzzlers that give up $4 & $5 fuel. But those defending GG are in full attack mode calling others babies.
For 30 years I've driven 35, 42, 45 & 75MPG vehicles & wanted more MPG. Because my vehicles were small & agile, I avoided several accidents. My cars would have taken 4 children back & forth to school. If most all others had driven my types of cars, they would have avoided repairs, unhappiness, many trips to the gas station, AND CAUSED the present $4 & $5 fuel not to be.
Last but most important, which GG defenders don't care about, lung, heart, & stroke ailments (other ailments too?) would be in lesser numbers.
GG guzzler defenders are the lost generations because they do not see the future.
Posted by: litesong | Jun 5, 2008 5:11:49 PM
For all you SUV bashers:
We have a sailboat that requires a 3500# hitch (2000# boat and 600# trailer). We currently have an old Tahoe to pull the boat. Any better suggestions?
For daily commuting my wife drives a Prius and I just had to scrap my Saturn SC-1 which got 32mpg.
Bill
Posted by: Bill Young | Jun 6, 2008 3:12:50 AM
Bill,
That's a sensible strategy. Only use the SUV/Pickup when you need it. But you must be able to afford it to have an SUV or pickup as a second car only when you need to tow the boat. By the way, shouldn't a boat be floating in the water ;-)
I think the disapproval is directed towards people that buy these SUV's/pickups and use it for everything and never tow a boat or haul stuff or transport a large family.
@Joseph et al,
I think the choice of car is nearly 100% determined by personality. I am really convinced that people driving big SUV's/trucks (without an obvious necessity) do that for exactly the same reason that my cat makes herself as big as possible when the neighbour's cat enters the garden: to impress. A simple matter of primitive instinct. Like it or not, there is still an animal inside us humans.
Posted by: Anne | Jun 6, 2008 3:40:18 AM
Bill,
Don't you know?
"Driving a wasteful vehicle is a crime for humanity."
In fact, owning a boat is a crime against humanity. Sell the boat and your SUV. Failure to comply means automatic arrest and seizure of your criminal goods and immidiate placement into the new re-education camp for people like you who have fun in life. Fun is no longer allowed. It is against the new order.
This has been a report by the Red... umm, Green Committee for the Betterment of Mankind.
Posted by: | Jun 6, 2008 4:01:48 AM
@ Bill Young:
As long as you rarely drive your SUV, I suppose you aren't really wasting much. Now, apparently, you have garage space for three vehicles. Not everyone has that.
We need a large vehicle on occasion. My wife might buy a piece of furniture, or I might be working on the landscaping in our yard. When I need the behemoth, I RENT it at U-Haul.
The problem is that most people won't, or presently can't, make a decision like yours or mine. Most people do not have a three-car garage. And the temptation clearly exists to buy a vehicle which will handle the biggest job one can imagine oneself doing -- and then, to use that vehicle for every job, big and small.
Maybe people who gave in to that temptation have realized their mistake now. But with gas prices so high, the used SUV market sucks. So they can't get any money on the trade-in. And thus they can't afford to dump their SUV and get an appropriately-sized hybrid car. They're trapped.
I do wish that people would consider the renting option a bit more seriously. Think about it the next time you have to shop for a new car.
Our family's two current vehicles are a 2004 Prius and a 1994 Civic. The Prius replaced a 1989 Mercury Tracer hatchback. The Prius is the LARGEST vehicle I have ever owned.
Posted by: John L. | Jun 6, 2008 10:00:38 AM
Bill, I have an old pickup, too. It sits all but two or three days per month, when I actually need to haul something too big to fit in the Prius or Jetta. The problem I have is with all the shiny new 6000 lb 4WD monsters I see everyday on dry paved roads, hauling nothing but the driver. Are there people who need to own trucks and SUVs? Sure, I'm one of them, but I doubt that people like me make up anywhere near the percentage of the population which have given "light trucks" over 50% of the LDV market share over the past 15 or so years. Of these, I'm sure that a much smaller percentage need such a vehicle for everyday use, and to be honest with you, I can't remember the last time I saw an SUV pulling a boat. I think I can speak for most posters here when I say that I'm not categorically against trucks and SUVs any more than I categorically oppose dump trucks and road graders. I just don't think that it would be responsible to use them for one's daily commute.
Posted by: Bob Bastard | Jun 6, 2008 10:18:20 AM
Funny thing...I doubt you have 4 children in infant seats. Even though the forward facing seats for toddlers are large, booster seats are small and I EASILY fit 3 booster seats side by side in my sub-compact 99 Mitsu Mirage.
How many US households have more than 3 children who are all in infant or forward facing toddler seats? I am willing to bet that the numbers are FAR smaller than the number of SUVs sold in previous years.
Posted by: Patrick | Jun 6, 2008 12:38:09 PM
Aren't sales of trucks and suvs down too? Just maybe it's the economy and people can't afford to buy cars like they did prior to the sub prime melt down. It's probably that simple.
Posted by: Mark M | Jun 6, 2008 12:38:23 PM
We need an auto czar to dictate what we drive. And maybe, like China, even have a quota on how many kids we have.
Seriously. Judging people by what they drive is really, really shallow.
Posted by: shigley | Jun 6, 2008 7:56:50 PM
"Judging people by what the drive is really, really shallow."
Perhaps - but people do. When I see someone driving a large SUV - I immediately think they are a selfish pig. Sorry - can't help it. They might be the nicest person in the world but the truth is the vast majority of people driving a large SUV are selfish pigs with no concern about their use of resources.
We have an auto czar that dictates what we drive. The only problem is that the emphasis has mostly been on safety. But we submit our vehicles annually (mostly) to make sure that it still meets the czar's standards. The czar is gradually ramping up the economy standards (finally).
A quota on kids is not a terrible idea.
Sorry but wasting resources is a crime against humanity (I would put a motor boat in that category). When the use of fossil fuels kills millions of people, then doing so is a crime. The food prices of the last year will probably lead to the starvation of millions of people. While the causes of the food prices are multifactorial; if petroleum was in excess, the prices would be lower and at least some would be saved. Now - project out 10 or 20 years and it is easy to imagine increased famine and military conflicts because of petroleum. Heck - would we have invaded Iraq if everyone in the US drove a sensibly sized and powered vehicle?
To go further - probably 5000 americans die each year because of pulmonary ailments contributed by local pollution. Far more than 5000 die each year but the is the amount that could be "blamed" on pollution. Again - sensibly sized and powered - and that number would be 1/2 what it is. Crime? You decide.
Posted by: 300TTto545 | Jun 7, 2008 4:07:34 AM
"For the calendar year through the end of May, GM has sold 3,227 hybrid vehicles—i.e., May’s 1,247 units represent 39% of the hybrids sold so far this year"
PATHETIC!
Posted by: LiveFreeOrDie | Jun 7, 2008 6:18:29 PM
The urge by some people to run other people's lives is utterly amazing. Talk about religious intolerance. Anybody who doesn't follow the religious dogma of Gaia, should be punished.
Crime Against Humanity?
We need someone to regulate life as the Chinese do with Infanticide?
Well at least Obama has voted to support your program. He has voted to allow the infanticide; after all, that's only "partial life" or ex-womb "extended abortion".
I presume deportation to the Gulag, would only be "extra-extended abortion".
You really ought to step back and listen to yourself.
Please grow up or move to China; and become an ant in the colony. Don't volunteer me to participate though.
Posted by: | Jun 9, 2008 8:51:37 AM
Everyone is focused on everyone else's consumption. Cannot everyone mind their own business and stop judging and pointing fingers at people having what they have and do?
Who are any of you to say one person cannot have what they have. Or enjoy it. Or stick up for it? I think living in a poorer, communist country would suit those of you who criticize others to the death yet offer no help.
It sure is easy to point the finger. But what about helping someone out instead of judging them by what they drive or what they do? You are showing no love for anyone but yourself when you point a critical finger.
Stop critiquing everyone else. Start doing something productive or be quiet and humbly wait for someone else to do it for you.
Nate H.
Dover, Ohio
Posted by: Nate H. | Jun 11, 2008 10:47:30 AM
Toyota Struggles to Keep Up With Battery Production for Hybrids
Associated Press
June 16, 2008 5:52 a.m.
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. is struggling to keep up with booming demand for hybrid vehicles because it is unable to make enough batteries that are key parts in the hit "green" cars, a senior executive said Monday.
The crunch on battery production is likely to stay for the rest of the year, as new lines can't be added to boost production until next year, said Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada, who oversees production at Japan's top auto maker.
"Hybrids are selling so well we are doing all we can to increase production," he said. "We need new lines." Battery production is critical in determining how many hybrid vehicles Toyota can produce, Mr. Uchiyamada said at the company's Tokyo office.
Hybrids, including Toyota's hybrid top-seller Prius, offer better mileage than comparable regular cars by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor.
Toyota leads the world's auto makers in hybrids sold at about 1.5 million vehicles since coming out with the first mass-produced hybrid Prius about a decade ago. Prius and other hybrids are soaring in popularity around the world amid surging gasoline prices, and other automakers are also rushing to produce hybrids. Hybrids also boast a green image in reducing emissions linked to global warming.
But Mr. Uchiyamada, who is spearheading a widespread effort at Toyota to make auto production greener, acknowledged such efforts hadn't yet extended to battery production because of the sheer problems in keeping up with demand.
"That has to settle down first," said Mr. Uchiyamada, an engineer who played a key role in the development of the Prius.
Toyota said last week its hybrid-battery joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic products, will begin producing next-generation lithium-ion batteries in 2009, and move into full-scale production in 2010. Toyota also said it is setting up a battery-research department later this month to develop an innovative battery that can outperform even that lithium-ion battery.
Toyota has also announced its third plant in Japan for producing current hybrid batteries, called nickel-metal hydride, packed in the Prius and other hybrid models on sale now.
Lithium-ion batteries, now common in laptops, produce more power and are smaller than nickel-metal hydride batteries. Toyota has said lithium-ion batteries will be used in Toyota plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet.
Other auto makers are also revving up hybrid production. Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker, said it will boost hybrid sales to 500,000 a year by sometime after 2010. Honda said it will introduce a new hybrid-only model next year for a lineup of four hybrids.
Nissan Motor Co., which still hasn't developed its own hybrid for commercial sale, said it will have its original hybrid by 2010. Nissan says its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp. will start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 at a plant in Japan.
Toyota plans to sell one million hybrid vehicles a year sometime after 2010.
Posted by: | Jun 16, 2008 8:33:33 AM
