Are Hybrids Loosing It Or…?

Results of numerous studies and ratings published recently in different sources are bound to leave consumers slightly confused. What’s the real position of electric and hybrid cars on the market?

Not so long ago J.D. Powers investigated consumers’ attitude to electric and hybrid cars and came to the conclusion that they began to lose their popularity. To diesel vehicles in particular, for they are very likely to maintain gas mileage that meets federal standards and even exceed it, but are less expensive to buy than electric and hybrid cars.

In two different lists of Top 10 Most Popular Cars for the first half of 2007, ranked by CarGuru consumers and based on sales volume from Automotive News, there are no hybrids. You can see them in Top 20, but it’s not a very flattering position. Moreover, the list is full of vehicles that not even remotely meet the new CAFE standards. Although auto buyers are obviously concerned about the growth of gas prices, they are still unwilling to reconsider their addiction to big gas-guzzlers.

So, it looks like electric and hybrid cars are not winning the battle even despite the threat of oil crisis. Moot point! The fresh study by J.D. Powers predicts an increase of over 30% in electric and hybrid cars sales. Not too bad for vehicles that have been reportedly loosing popularity.

Well, maybe this all makes sense at the end of the day, as hybrid car market is welcoming new SUV models that should draw the attention of SUV lovers.