Hybrid luxury vehicle sales on the rise
June 5, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
It’s not just everyday car buyers that are after more fuel efficient cars, buyers of luxury cars are also beginning to lose a bit of interest in fuel inefficient top-end vehicles in the wake of rising fuel costs.
One manufacturer that has reaped the rewards is Lexus with its Hybrid Luxury range. Last month the company sold 470 hybrid vehicles – up 11.6 per cent for the year-to-date over the same period in 2007.
“Increased sales of Lexus hybrid vehicles show that higher fuel prices are forcing a rethink of the vehicles we drive, even at the luxury end of the market,” Lexus chief executive John Roca said
Lexus predicts 2000 hybrids will be sold by the third quarter. The strongest models have been the RX 400h hybrid SUV which has found 1200 buyers so far.
“While our customers can afford to pay more for petrol, the steep rise in fuel prices has sent a signal to everyone that oil is a finite resource. Lexus hybrids are widely accepted as an alternative to traditional petrol or diesel-engined vehicles, delivering real world economy and emissions benefits.” Roca continued.
Toyota’s Luxury arm has also sold over 500 GS 450h performance sedan as well as nearly 100 LS 600hL luxury saloons.
Lexus says hybrid luxury sales have been so strong that demand is currently outstripping supply.
“Lexus hybrids are clearly bucking the trend, forging a clear path towards more environmentally aware motoring without sacrificing power and driving enjoyment,” he said.
Currently Lexus is the only luxury manufacturer producing hybrid vehicles, using the technology adopted from its parent company Toyota.
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Hyundai is considering importing an LPG hybrid that will cost about 10 dollars a week on fuel to run……i hope they do, so Toyota and all the other petrol hybrid manufacturers will finally realise that petrol is the wrong fuel for this technology and we will finally get proper affordable hybrid!!!!
Not sure what makes LPG such a natural fit for hyrbrids? With battery bank on board and extra drive motor I would think the last thing a hybrid would need is a large and heavy gas tank and a derated IC engine?
What this reinforces to me is that some others on this forum are missing the point when doing the $ math on diesel vs petrol. For some people (like those who can afford a $100k car), its not so much about using less money as it is about generating less CO2.
Hybrid sports cars are next! Don’t laugh. Some electric drives can produce their peak torque at zero revs – perfect for those traffic light drags.
Marketmaker…….10 dollars a week fuel bill is what makes LPG a great fuel for hybrids!!!!
if natural gas was as readily available as LPG then it would be even better but because it’s not then LPG is perfect for a hybrid because the “point” of a hybrid is to save money and produce less Co2 and LPG does this much better than petrol and diesel!!
As far as the tank goes Hyundai is not a stupid company if the tank was that much heavier than the petrol tank it replaces then they would solve that problem by saving weight somewhere else in the car and any way this car has already been built in Korea and Hyundai Australia went over there to see if it would be viable for the Australian market!
All i can say to Hyundai is, bring it NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!