US hybrid sales boosted by high oil prices
Mon 09 May 2005
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Sales of fuel efficient hybrid, petrol-electric vehicles have risen sharply in the United States in recent months, probably stimulated by sharp rises in fuel prices.
Sales of the Toyota Prius, the best selling hybrid model, reached nearly 10,000 units in August, more than double the same month a year earlier. Total US Prius sales for the year are nearly 73,000 compared with 31,500 a year earlier.
Sales of Honda's Civic hybrid also trebled in August while Ford reported sales of nearly 1,400 units of its petrol-electric Escape SUV.
General Motors, which introduced hybrid versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-up trucks last Autumn also reported a sharp rise in sales.
Hybrid vehicles made up 1.6% of total US light vehicle sales in August this year.
According the the Financial Times, US market research results also gave encouragement to hybrid manufacturers with almost a third of respondents saying they would consider buying a hybrid - four times the number revealed in a survey carried out just one month earlier.
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