Just as hybrids are in strong demand, sales are flat because they aren’t available. Manufacturers weren’t prepared for the fast turn-around in consumer purchasing behavior.
Conventional small car sales soared last month, but hybrid sales were flat or down – not because people don’t want them, but because dealers had few left.
Manufactures say hybrid assembly plants are running at top speed, but they are short components, especially batteries.
While the Honda Civic Hybrid only rose 3% in May, the conventional Civic’s sales rose 37% – the top selling car in the U.S.
Honda says it’s scaling to supply 100,000 a year of a new five-door hybrid hatchback, starting next year.
Sales of the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid, dropped by 37%, while the Corolla was up 17% for May. Toyota Vice President Bob Carter says, Prius stock on dealer lots "is best measured now in hours, not days."
Toyota reached the production limit at the Japanese Prius factory and announced it will build a new battery plant and expand another in conjunction with Panasonic.
Sales of the Ford Escape dropped 20%.
"The inventory is next to nothing. You can’t sell from an empty shelf," says Ford sales analyst George Pipas. Hybrid versions of its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans are coming later this year.
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