Hybrid Sales Up Despite Car Slump

Car sales are down thanks to the rising price of gasoline, but some hybrids are more than holding their own.

According to the Green Car Congress, quoting figures from Autodata, hybrid sales increased by 10 percent in March while overall light duty vehicle sales dropped by 12 percent. Yikes.

Toyota continues to do well with the Prius and Camry hybrids, as does Honda with the Civic. But the SUV hybrids didn't fair so well -- with the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner off by 20 percent.

Perhaps some of those sales went to the even bigger Chevy Tahoe or GMC Yukon, which recently debuted. These are the first of many full-sized hybrids optimized for both city and highway driving, and so even though the escape gets about 50 percent better fuel economy, drivers may prefer the "full SUV" capability of hauling and interior space.

As has been the case with hybrids since their introduction, their cost to fuel savings depends is a matter of great debate and depends on the price of gas. USA Today's James Healey like the drive experience of the Yukon but wasn't so impressed by the price.

With gas encroaching on $4 per gallon, the pendulum is swinging towards full hybrids paying for themselves in five years or less.

Hybrids are beginning to compose in the range of 10 percent of the sales of their overall models (eg, Camry and Nissan Altima), and that's not likely to change unless gas hits $5 a gallon. But the wider assortment of hybrids coming in the next 2 years will push the overall market closer to that 10 percent share.