Hybrid Car Sales Rise 81 Percent in U.S.

DETROIT (AP) — Hybrid vehicle sales nearly doubled in the United States last year as gas prices soared and a wider variety of models attracted consumers. New hybrid vehicle registrations totaled 83,153 in 2004, an 81 percent increase over the year before, according to data released Monday by R.L. Polk & Co., which collects and interprets automotive data.

Still, hybrids represented less than 1 percent of the 17 million new vehicles sold in 2004. But the U.S. hybrid market has grown by 960 percent since 2000, when 7,781 were sold, according to the Polk data, and major automakers are planning to introduce about a dozen new hybrids during the next three years.
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