There's no doubt about which automaker leads the hybrid vehicle race. Toyota – and particularly the Japanese automaker's Prius hybrid – outsells all other manufacturers combined. In total, Automotive News calculates that Toyota sold 144,351 hybrid vehicles in the first nine months of 2009, which actually represents a 28-percent drop from the previous year.
So far this year, Honda has come in second with its new Insight, but that position is currently in jeopardy. The 26,016 hybrid vehicles sold by Ford in the first nine months of the year represents an impressive 73-percent gain from last year. Honda has sold 29,958 hybrids so far in '09, representing a much smaller eight-percent increase. In both July and September, Ford actually sold more hybrids than Honda.
In other words, Ford, led by its Escape Hybrid and new-for-2010 Fusion Hybrid, is gaining on Honda at a very rapid pace. Moving on down the line, General Motors slots in at number four with 12,556 total hybrid so far this year and Nissan's 7,713 units make it the number five hybrid seller in the U.S.
Last week, our friends from Consumer Reports got the chance to sit down with Mark Fields, Ford's vice president of North American operations, and some interesting information was gleaned. For instance, CR says Fields "implied the company isn't making money on the hybrids it sells today, and it is looking at ways to "enhance revenue" from them." Not surprising, really, but an interesting admission nonetheless.
There are a few ways Ford could try and recoup some of its hybrid powertrain R&D costs, most logically being to extend the technology across its line and into more expensive products – possibly from Lincoln, mimicking the strategy Toyota uses with its Lexus division. In addition to hybrid and electric cars, Fields says Ford is also interested in diesels but isn't currently planning to sell any oil burners in passenger cars. Instead, Ford's diesel efforts are likely to continue focused on pickups.
Speaking of which, Ford's light duty diesel engine for the F-150 is apparently still somewhat on the agenda. Earlier reports, says Fields, that said the program had been canceled aren't entirely accurate. Instead, the smaller diesel was merely "delayed," though we have no idea for how long.
