Like most car dealerships during the pandemic, Hudson Hyundai in New Jersey is selling nearly any vehicle it can acquire. But some models move faster than others.
“The hybrids really go first,” said sales agent Alicia Mandona. “I have at least three customers waiting.”
Hybrid cars improve fuel economy by using batteries to assist gasoline-powered engines, and their sales are soaring. While the broader U.S. auto industry recorded a 29 percent growth in sales in the first half of 2021, hybrid sales grew 142 percent, according to data provided by Wards Intelligence.
Hybrid sales have been growing faster than those of electric vehicles for the past two years — and many experts say that consumers’ apparent willingness to make the switch to hybrids, which has coincided with more popular models becoming available, could be a promising sign for an eventual shift toward electric vehicles.
“The more that people are comfortable with hybrids,” said Ken Gillingham, a professor of environmental economics at Yale University, “the more they might be comfortable with electric vehicles in the future.”
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Hyundai’s hybrid sales are even stronger than the national trend. In the past year, the company began offering three of its more popular models — the Tucson, Santa Fe and Elantra — with a hybrid option. Sales exploded. The company says that from January through July 2021, it sold 32,983 hybrids in the United States — a more than fivefold increase from the same period last year.
“Our research shows that there is growing consumer interest in eco-friendly vehicles,” said Michael Stewart, a spokesman for Hyundai Motors USA. “Hybrids are great transition models as we move to a zero-emissions future.”
