No Surprise here really, but the LA Times reports that hybrid car sales are going through the roof.
“Although hybrid cars account for only about 3% of U.S. car sales, their share is growing rapidly. Sales of hybrid cars surged 25% during the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year. And the pace accelerated last month, when sales jumped 58%. The reason is simple. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gas topped $4 a gallon in California for the first time Thursday…, and many analysts expect pump prices to go higher as the summer driving season kicks off over the Memorial Day weekend.”
While of course this is good news, the truth is, the auo manufacturers will need to continue to improve their efficiencies if hybrid cars are really going become the standard. Why? Because the fact is, even at $4.00, non-hybrids are still very competitive in terms of long terms costs. If your interested in comparing, use this tool from the Department of Energy. A ford escape hybrid, according to this tool, actually costs more over 7 years with gas at $4.50.
Nonetheless, this is great that our vehicle fleet is finally begining to become more efficient, and it will be particularly exciting when plug-in hybrid begin hitting the market in a couple of years.
