Rising gasoline prices aren’t pushing a ton of American car buyers toward electric vehicles, but hybrids sure seem to be winning out.According a report at Motor Intelligence, hybrid vehicle sales in the US rose 37% in the two months following the start of the war in the Middle East began in late February. That growth far exceeded overall vehicle sales, which were up 15% over the same period.Fully electric vehicles, however, did not see the same boost. EV sales increased just 11% during the same period, lagging overall sales and even falling behind levels from after the expiration of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit.The trend differs from that in Europe, where EV demand in places like the United Kingdom and Germany have grown since the outbreak of the Iran war. The UK saw electric vehicle sales leap 79% in the same two-month period, while Germany had a 39% increase in EV sales, both outpacing their overall auto markets.But US buyers have been more hesitant overall to take the full EV plunge, and hybrids offer some benefit of protection against high fuel prices while without requiring the lifestyle changes associated with EV ownership, like installing a home charger or planning charging stops.Toyota Corolla hybrid.Hybrids also tend to be less expensive than EVs and come in a wider range of models and price points. CarGurus says it has also seen increased interest from shoppers on its site, with hybrid-related searches accounted for 14% of all vehicle searches in April, up from 12% the previous month. EV searches also rose, but remained comparatively lower at 5%.Toyota, with its wide portfolio of hybrid models, has been among the biggest beneficiaries of this increase. The Prius maker has increasingly focused on hybrid technology over outright EVs in recent years, and produces hybrid-only versions of most of it high-volume models such as the Camry and RAV4. Toyota’s US electrified sales rose 34% during the period, driven primarily by hybrids.Still, higher gas prices have apparently not completely shifted Americans away from larger vehicles. Sales of full-size pickup trucks rose 20% in March and April compared with February, according to Catalyst IQ, suggesting incentives and consumer preferences continue to outweigh fuel concerns for many buyers.
+2 others
