by Karl Greenberg, Friday, Aug 3, 2007 5:00 AM ET
AUTOMAKERS, BOWING SEVEN NEW HYBRID vehicles this year, might want to think of ways to make gas/electric cars and trucks scream: “Hey, look, I’m a hybrid.” A big visible difference from non-hybrids, big fuel economy gains and a small price difference have determined winners and losers in the growing segment, say market observers.
High gasoline prices, meanwhile, are helping drive a record market in gas/electric cars this year. Still, with a profusion of hybrid cars in market now and more coming, Toyota’s Prius rules, and consultancies say the car will continue to do so: Toyota sold a record 16,062 Priuses last month–a dizzying 50% increase versus the month last year. Year to date, the company saw an 85% increase through July versus the period in 2006. Toyota reported that among all of its hybrids, it saw a 59% increase in sales in the period.

Toyota, which plans to offer hybrid-powertrain versions of its entire portfolio by 2012, now sells gas/electric versions of four other vehicles, but all of those combined don’t come near sales of Prius.

“Prius is a stand-alone car–it makes a statement on its own,” says George Magliano, director of automotive research for the Americas at Global Insight, Lexington, Mass. “You see it on the road and know it’s a hybrid. And the issue with this type of vehicle is that people want you to know they have a hybrid.”

Dan Gorrell, president of Auto Stratagem, a research and consulting firm in Tustin, Calif., concurs. “Consider the hybrid Highlander (SUV). It hasn’t sold well, partly because it violates a major issue: you need to look different. A lot of why people are buying hybrids has to do with being noticed; it’s a self-esteem issue.” more on hybrid cars

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