Ford’s hybrids are gunning for Toyota’s Prius

Ford is benefitting from great hybrid sales and legislative moves that may put them in a position to challenge  Toyota’s dominance in the future. 

Overall hybrid sales are down 11 percent but Ford’s models made gains in 2009. The company says the Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion were keys in the 67 percent increase in their hybrid sales over last year. Almost half of their hybrid numbers are from sales of the Fusion alone.

Ford sales analyst George Pipas noted that "We are seeing a growing number of conquest sales, many of them from customers coming from import brands, mostly Toyota and Honda."

If Governor Granholm signs recent legislation Ford may get a break in developing more battery technology for green cars in Michigan. The state would hand Ford $78 million in tax breaks for the development of battery packs for plug-in and hybrid vehicles. Ford claims that the break could create a thousand jobs and a fat $500 million worth of investments and the move would consolidate car and lithium-ion battery pack production in Michigan.

Toyota isn’t sitting around counting their money from Prius sales, though. Word has leaked that they will debut a lower priced hybrid subcompact at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 11, 2010. It’s unknown if the car will be an extension of the Prius name or if it will be based on the smaller Yaris. Irregardless, it will be tempting to those that can’t afford the higher price of hybrids like Chevy’s Volt.

It’s great that automakers finally got the point that not every buyer is looking for a SUV that gets a block per gallon of gas. It’s even better that increased competition will give consumers more choices and spur even more innovation.