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Sales Of Hybrid Vehicles Zooming

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By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The Associated Press

Published: April 21, 2008

DETROIT - Kim Fenske drives a bus in Colorado by day, but when he's not working, he zooms around the mountains in a 2007 Toyota Prius.

Fenske, a lawyer by training who also has worked as a forest ranger, was an environmentalist long before hybrid cars such as the Prius hit the market.

But he recently decided to go one step further and make an environmental statement with his car.

A growing number of buyers feel like Fenske. U.S. registrations of new hybrid vehicles rose 38 percent in 2007 to a record 350,289, according to data to be released today by R.L. Polk & Co.

Hybrids made up 2.2 percent of the U.S. market share for the year, but they were growing steadily even as overall sales declined 3 percent.

Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis at Polk, said rising gas prices may affect some buyers, but they're not the main driver of hybrid sales. Instead, he thinks sales jumped in 2007 because buyers had more options, including the new Nissan Altima, Saturn Aura and Lexus LS600h hybrid sedans.

The Associated Press

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