Many hybrid-car owners buy once -- but not again

[dpeilow]

Hybrid cars: Only 35% of hybrid-car owners buy another one, Polk says - latimes.com

While the choice of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles for sale in the U.S. continues to grow, more buyers than not are deciding against the technology when they go to buy another car.

Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the market in 2011, according to auto information company R.L. Polk & Co.

[richkae]

This is a stupid study.
Most families in the US are multi-car families. Different vehicles have different purposes.
Most of the hybrid owners buying another vehicle are unlikely to be replacing their current hybrid - but instead replacing another vehicle or filling some other need.
The number of hybrid choices on the market is incredibly small.
How many hybrid minivans are there? Zero.
How many hybrid pickup trucks? Zero. ( Stop start is **** and doesnt count )
How many hybrid SUVs are there? Three maybe.
How many hybrid sports cars? Zero. ( Neither the CR-Z ( not sports enough ) nor the 918 spyder qualify ( too expensive ) )

The headline could easily be: "35% of hybrid owners manage to meet their additional vehicle needs with another hybrid even though they have almost no choices"

[ElSupreme]

This is a stupid study.
Most families in the US are multi-car families. Different vehicles have different purposes.
Most of the hybrid owners buying another vehicle are unlikely to be replacing their current hybrid - but instead replacing another vehicle or filling some other need.
The number of hybrid choices on the market is incredibly small.
How many hybrid minivans are there? Zero.
How many hybrid pickup trucks? Zero. ( Stop start is **** and doesnt count )
How many hybrid SUVs are there? Three maybe.
How many hybrid sports cars? Zero. ( Neither the CR-Z ( not sports enough ) nor the 918 spyder qualify ( too expensive ) )

The headline could easily be: "35% of hybrid owners manage to meet their additional vehicle needs with another hybrid even though they have almost no choices"

Hybrid cars: Only 35% of hybrid-car owners buy another one, Polk says - latimes.com

That and the fact that 2.4% of the new car market is hybrids seems to show me that hybrid owners are VERY likely to purchase another hybrid. About 15 times more likely.

[Doug_G]

How many hybrid pickup trucks? Zero. ( Stop start is **** and doesnt count )

Extended Range Electric Powertrain Trucks, Vans & SUVs-EREVS | VIA Motors

[richkae]

Extended Range Electric Powertrain Trucks, Vans & SUVs-EREVS | VIA Motors

Consumer deliveries in 2013. Will be exciting to see.

[GSP]

Chevy and GMC have been offering hybrid pickups for a few years now. Not just stop/start but split-power with two 80 kW motors.

Don't tell anyone, GM seems to be keeping them secret.

GSP

[daniel]

I bought my Prius in 2004. Driving electric (for a few blocks at a time) was so much fun that my next car was the Zap Xebra in 2007. Then the Tesla last year. Still have the Prius, for longer trips or hauling stuff or parking at the airport. The Prius is an excellent car. I might never buy another hybrid because Priuses last so long I might never need another stinker.

Lots of Prius owners have bought Leafs. It's not that they don't like hybrids. It's that EVs are even better.

[vfx]

First reason postulated:

One reason is that about 17,000 people purchased electric cars last year,

Getting smart er.

[jerry33]

I purchased a 2001 Prius for my wife and it was so good that I purchased a 2004 for myself. Still driving both of them. Of course, I'm going to replace the 2004 with a Model S (I hope) but should that not pan out, I'd not be opposed to purchasing another Prius (even though I'm not really happy with the Prius' larger body and bigger engine direction). Of course, I'd probably drive the 2004 for another 100,000 miles before that because the newer Prius doesn't have much to offer that I don't already have with the 2004.

[richkae]

I know a lot of hybrid owners that all qualify as "hybrid abandoners" on their next vehicle.
They still own the hybrid, but the 2nd car is a minivan,sports car or even a truck.
In some of those situations there is a hybrid choice for the 2nd vehicle, but they don't buy it - because they don't *need* two hybrids when the first hybrid is going to do most of the driving and provide 3/4 of the family miles.
The very expensive hybrid truck is certainly not worth it when it is the 2nd or 3rd vehicle that only gets driven on Home Depot weekends.
( Of course, in some cases they don't even justify the expense of the truck for its minimal use anyway )

Polk is going to produce the same FUD a few years from now when people buy an ICE to be the 2nd car to their EV.