While ICE vehicles continue to dominate the new and used sales market, 2024 marks the first time hybrids have crept into the double-digit range of new car sales. According to CarGurus’ Head of Industry Analytics and Insights, hybrids have acquired 10.5% of new car sales to date in 2024. Though that figure may pale compared to the 77.7% that makes up new ICE vehicle sales, it easily eclipses the 4.1% market share EVs makeup and trounces the 2.1% of PHEVs sold.
PHEVs sit on lots three times longer than hybrids
Further backing up the idea that PHEVs are the least sought-after, CarGurus shows us that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles sit on car lots for an average of 153.7 days. By comparison, EVs sit for 98.1 days, followed by gasoline-powered vehicles for 86.1 days. Hybrids, on the other hand, sit on lots for just 49.5 days, three times less than the lagging PHEVs.
Hybrids offer the lowest average list price of any vehicle type
One of the biggest reasons hybrids may have gained ground on their ICE counterparts is simply the bottom line. With inflation driving up the price of everything from almond milk to the internet, consumers are looking for ways to mitigate their expenses. While EVs may offer the lowest per-mile cost, the initial entry cost is the highest of any vehicle type, at an average price of $58,700. Hybrids, on the other hand, have the lowest average new price of $44,900.
In addition, hybrids typically offer significantly better fuel economy but allow owners to continue without changing fueling stations or adapting to new plug-in charging stations. Although when the CEO of Toyota stated that hybrids were the way of the future, not EVs, it seemed to fly in the face of an inevitable automotive future, it seems that public sentiment may be shifting in that direction. Only time, and more carefully crafted analytics by the experts at CarGurus, will tell whether or not this trend will continue.
