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Asian carmakers Toyota and Hyundai have benefited from surging US demand for hybrid models as the Iran conflict keeps petrol prices elevated.
The popularity of hybrids has caught out Detroit’s Big Three carmakers, who offer few such models in the US market and are enduring a plunge in domestic sales of electric vehicles.
Sales of hybrid models rose by almost 20 per cent in July compared with the same month last year, even as overall US car sales fell by 1.5 per cent, according to RBC Capital Markets.
Korean auto group Hyundai, which has repurposed part of its vast new EV plant in the state of Georgia to build hybrids as well as pure EVs, sold 43,727 hybrids in July, a 62 per cent increase on the year before. Segment leader Toyota’s US hybrid sales rose 22 per cent, while Japanese counterpart Honda saw a 15 per cent increase.
The three Asian carmakers hold 86 per cent of hybrid market share in the US, according to auto consultancy Baum & Associates, with Ford pick-ups accounting for the bulk of the rest of the market.
Traditional hybrids, such as Toyota’s Prius, use a battery-powered motor to give an internal-combustion vehicle greater fuel efficiency while so-called plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have larger batteries and can be driven for dozens of miles on battery power alone.
While PHEVs — including luxury models on offer from German carmakers — have been largely rejected by US consumers, accounting for less than 2 per cent of the overall auto market, traditional hybrids offer relief from higher petrol prices without requiring any change to driving or fuelling behaviour.
“Hybrids are delivering the sweet spot consumers are looking for,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds.
The average price of petrol in the US is sitting at just over $4.06 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. That is up by a third from a year ago but has not translated into a meaningful recovery in EV sales since the Trump administration withdrew a $7,500 consumer tax credit for such vehicles last year.
According to Edmunds, Tesla owners are trading in their vehicles in exchange for non-electric models at higher rates than owners of any other EVs, with a record 21 per cent exchanging their Teslas for hybrid models. Toyota is the most popular alternative, accounting for more than 17 per cent of Tesla replacements.
Meanwhile, Detroit carmakers that largely eschewed hybrid models have seen their EV sales plunge. General Motors, which only has two hybrid models on the market, sold 33 per cent fewer electric models in the second quarter than the same period last year. Ford’s July EV sales collapsed by 75 per cent as it phases out models in anticipation of launching a new low-cost EV architecture next year.
Having largely missed out on the hybrid boom, GM is exploring options for re-introducing hybrid models into its line-up. Ford, which has found more success in the segment with hybrid versions of its Maverick and F-150 pick-up trucks, is planning to offer hybrid options across its entire petrol-powered line-up by 2030.
Along with European auto group Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands, Ford and GM are rushing to offer so-called extended range EVs, which have a small engine that acts only as a generator to top up the battery.
The technology is regarded as particularly suitable for the pick-up trucks that increasingly dominate the US market, as it offers extra pulling power in addition to greater range.
The Trump administration’s slashing of emissions standards has provided relief for Detroit automakers that have lost tens of billions of dollars in writedowns as a result of their stalled EV transition, with Ford and GM both raising their full-year profit forecasts last month thanks to robust demand for large trucks and SUVs.
Analysts say US new car sales have remained relatively resilient despite economic pressures on consumers, with Cox Automotive forecasting that full-year sales are on course to hit 16mn — slightly ahead of its prediction of 15.8mn before the start of 2026.
Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox, said “stubbornly high gas prices — with no relief in sight — and historically weak consumer confidence have not discouraged new-vehicle buyers, as might be expected”.
But he added that “the market today is being driven by more affluent buyers, so they may be less impacted by inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty”.
