Even as the Honda Accord hybrid bit the dust, Toyota announced that it had sold its one-millionth hybrid on a worldwide basis. What does that mean in practical terms? “As U.S. hybrid sales jumped to 45,000 vehicles – their highest monthly total ever – Toyota Motor Co. captured 80 percent of all new hybrid customers … While other automakers reported sizable increases in hybrid sales, Toyota saw sales of its hybrid Prius more than double from a year earlier. With sales of 24,009 vehicles – more than all other hybrids combined – the Prius was the ninth top-selling U.S. model in the industry for May, outselling mass-market names such as the Nissan Altima, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Cobalt. The only car model from a Detroit automaker that outsold the Prius last month was the Chevrolet Impala.” … In fact, May 2007 may be the month when hybrid sales settled into a groove and remained there for good — accounting for an all-time high of nearly 3 percent of total auto sales in the U.S. …

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