Talk about a reversal of fortunes. Though gas/electric-powered hybrid cars and full electric vehicles were gaining momentum back when gasoline was priced at over $3.00 a gallon, segment loyalty is withering under the harsh reality of cheap petroleum and shifting consumer tastes.
According to Kelley Blue Book data, an overwhelming 72.5% of owners trading in EVs and hybrids are replacing them with conventional gasoline powered models this year (based on 5,724 transactions), which amounts to just 27.5% segment loyalty.
That’s down from 38.5% in 2015, and “irrational exuberance” over Tesla’s recent Model 3 unveiling not withstanding, reinforces the notion that that U.S. motorists’ initial passion for electrified rides could well have been just a passing flirtation.
At that, the majority of hybrid and electric-car owners are trading them in for SUVs – 33.8% to be exact, according to KBB, which is up from 29% last year. If there’s a silver lining for environmentalists lurking with the latest sales data, the largest chunk of those drivers acquired reasonably fuel efficient compact crossover models, while only 4.1% replaced their green cars with pickup trucks, and a mere 1.4% drove back home in a large SUV.
“The overwhelming popularity of SUVs trumps just about any other trend in today’s market,” says Caldwell. “SUV sales are up 22 percent in the last five years, and almost every other segment has suffered as a result. It’s especially true for hybrids and EVs, which generally don’t offer the size that today’s shoppers crave.”
What’s more, with conventionally powered autos breaking the 40 mpg barrier in several cases, buyers are less motivated to spend the added cash to obtain a hybrid model that returns what might amount to only a modest bump in fuel economy. “This is an economics trend, since today’s low cost of gas no longer makes it worth paying the price premium of hybrids and EVs,” Caldwell explains. “And there are so many fuel-efficient vehicles on the market today that environmental concerns weigh less than they might have in years past. When you’re buying a vehicle that can get over 30 mpg, you can still say you’re doing your part to help the environment.”
Curiously, while sales among hybrids and EVs dropped by 10 percent over the last year, KBB cites plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) as being the odd success story among “green” vehicles these days. Fueled, so to speak, by a fresh crop of 2016 models including the redesigned Chevrolet Volt, the new Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, and the Hyundai Sonata Plug-in are helping ignite a sales burst of more than 40% in the first quarter of the year – though volume is still a proverbial drop in the bucket of amassed industry sales – at 10,932 units sold so far this year versus 6,652 over the first three months of 2015.
Other PHEVs are on the way in a wide range of bodystyles, including the new Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid sedan, Volvo’s XC90 T8 Twin Engine Plug-In Hybrid crossover SUV and a PHEV version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
Read More of the original article in Forbes.
The post Happy Earth Day? More EVs And Hybrids Are Being Traded In For SUVs appeared first on Fleet Management Weekly.
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