San Francisco: Leading The Way In Hybrid Sales

In San Francisco 1 out of every 10 vehicles purchased is a hybrid vehicle – the highest rate on the country. Overall the state of California leads the nation in hybrid sales, among other things. Polk, a privately held automotive research firm in Southfield, Michigan, estimates that hybrid vehicles sales in the United States stand at around 2.87% of all vehicle sales. The problem is this statistic is not moving even with car manufactures offering 43 hybrid-electric vehicles, 4 plug-in hybrids, and 12 pure electric cars.

What sets Polk apart from other automobile research firms is that Polk tracks vehicle registration as opposed to just vehicle sales. This allows Polk to get a unique snap shot of car markets throughout the U.S. Analysts can used this data, along with sales data, to get a good idea where the hybrid market is in America. The data, once analyzed, shows among the bottom 15 markets for hybrid vehicles sales the rate is a low 1.5%. That is half the national average, even though these 15 markets overall represent 6.6% of all vehicle sales nationwide. 

Conclusion, the American population is not buying hybrid vehicles at the expected rate. Thus, San Francisco really stands with 9.4% of all vehicle sales being hybrid vehicles. The reason American’s are not buying hybrid or electric cars are numerous ranging from the high cost of the vehicles, concerns about reliability, and access to the vehicles from dealerships. The fact is the modern line of hybrid and electric cars (EV) are real standouts in reliability and user satisfaction.  If you are in the market for a new vehicle, hybrid and EVs are certainly worth a look especially of you live in one of the following hybrid and EV friendly markets.

The top 15 markets for hybrids vehicles; keep in mind the overall American average is 2.87% of all sales:

1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose   9.4%

2. Monterey/Salinas, Calif.   8.84 %

3. Eugene, Ore.   7.89%

4. Santa Barbara, Calif.   7.5%

5. San Diego, Calif.  7.13%

6. Eureka, Calif.   6.97%

7. Los Angeles    6.62%

8. Chico/Redding, Calif.   6.06%

9. Palm Springs, Calif.   6.03%

10. Portland, Ore.   5.95%

11. Seattle/Tacoma, Wash.   5.9%
12. Sacramento, Calif.   5.85%

13. Bend, Ore.   5.61%

14. Medford/Klamath Falls, Ore.   5.60%

15. Tuscon, Ariz.   4.89%

Source: www.forbes.com