Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, the first automakers to sell hybrid cars, say they probably can't build enough of the fuel-saving autos to meet demand this year as rising gasoline prices spark consumer interest.
So far this year, sales of their three gasoline-electric models, Toyota's Prius and Honda's Insight and Civic Hybrid, are up 50 percent. Still, a Prius model change late this year and a production ceiling at Honda mean sales may be limited to about 50,000 cars this year, the companies say.
"Given expected availability and product-release schedules, hybrid sales could be 50,000 to 55,000 this year, no higher," said Walter McManus, a global forecasting director for JD Power & Associates.
Carmakers are spending billions of dollars to design cleaner, more efficient autos such as hybrids, which combine a gasoline engine and electric motors to cut tailpipe exhaust and fuel use.
Hybrid sales remain at niche levels as retail costs are as much as US$4,000 more than equivalent gasoline-engine cars and consumers are wary of new technology, analysts say.
The automakers had combined sales of 36,000 hybrids in the US last year, just 0.2 percent of 16.8 million new cars and trucks purchased.
Toyota has said it may sell as many as 21,000 Prius cars in 2003, compared with 20,119 last year, as supplies of the current version dwindle ahead of a transition to a redesigned 2004 model.
"Demand for Prius is going to continue to outstrip supply," spokesman John Hanson said. "The plan right now is to continue to cycle down inventories in preparation for the next generation."
Honda plans to sell as many as 24,000 Civic Hybrids in 2003, from fewer than 15,000 last year, spokesman Andy Boyd said. Should demand grow beyond that, the Tokyo-based company could lift output 25 percent to supply about 30,000 a year, he said.
Demand for two-seat Insights may fall below the 2,216 sold last year, Boyd said. He wouldn't confirm that 2003 is the last year for the model, the first US hybrid when it went on sale in 1999.
General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co plan to enter the hybrid market late this year with three light trucks, with initial sales limited to fleets. Sales to consumers through US dealerships begin in middle of next year, the companies said. Neither offered sales estimates for this year or next year.
GM will sell a small number of Silverado and Sierra pickups with a "mild" hybrid system that raises fuel economy as much as 12 percent, spokesman Joe Lawrence said.
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