SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

With gas prices high, more consumers are turning towards purchasing gas sippers like hybrids. However, dealers may have to fight harder to get hybrid buyers back into the store after their first purchase, according to recently released data from Edmunds.com

Breaking the data down by 10 of the largest cities in the U.S., Edmunds.com found that many hybrid vehicle owners did not choose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market this past year.

 

In fact, the rate of hybrid owners that will buy another hybrid for the next car purchase is only 35 percent.

And data from Experian echoes this trend, with segment loyalty for hybrid cars coming in at only slightly over 40 percent. This could prove detrimental to the growth of the hybrid vehicle segment, as it only makes up 0.82 percent of the current vehicles in operation, according to Experian data logged this past summer.

And Edmunds.com noted that this drop in loyalty could be in part due to issues such as pricing and lack of options in the hybrid market.

Commenting on this assertion, Edmunds.com chief economist Lacey Plache, noted, “The lineup of hybrid vehicles and their premium price points just aren’t appealing enough to consumers, especially given the growing strength of fuel economy among compact and midsize competitors.

“Even as gas prices soar, the economics of buying a hybrid vehicle don’t make much sense in many cases. The lineup of hybrid vehicles and their premium price points just aren’t appealing enough to consumers, especially given the growing strength of fuel economy among compact and midsize competitors,” she continued.

But the options are continuing to expand, as OEMs are taking advantage of consumers’ shift towards more fuel-efficient units.

By Edmunds’ count, 46 of 327 vehicles on sale in the 2011 and 2012 model years were capable of delivering 30 miles per gallon, combined city and highway fuel efficiency, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s formula.

This marks almost a 30-percent increase from mid-2011, when the company compiled its first list of 30-mpg combined vehicles. They also shared that the 40 mpg “club” is growing as well.

“In 2010, only one vehicle — the Smart ForTwo — achieved 40 mpg. Today the 40 mpg club is up to nine vehicles and growing,” officials explained.

Edmunds.com also went on to note that the  “payback period” — or the amount of time in which a driver can use fuel savings make to up the price premium between a hybrid and its gasoline-powered alternative — exceeds the six-year average that car owners typically hold on to their vehicles.

What the company found is that it can take up to 10 years to have the money saved at the gas pump ease what the consumer had to shell out for the vehicle up-front.

“With gasoline at $4.00 per gallon, it would take 10 years to make up the more than $4,000 price difference between a Honda Civic Hybrid and a Honda Civic,” the company noted.

“It would take seven years at $4.00/gallon to close the gap between a $22,800 Toyota Prius and a $16,800 Toyota Corolla,” officials continued.

Edmunds.com also broke the data down by major U.S. city, showing that many hybrid owners may be thinking twice before purchasing anther gas sipper, according to the company’s analysis of new-car registration data provided by Polk:

—Atlanta: In this Southern city, 30 percent of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011.

—Boston: Only 38.4 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in Boston chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011.

—Chicago: In the Windy City, 33 percent of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011. 

—Dallas-Ft. Worth: Lagging behind, only 26.6 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in Dallas-Ft. Worth chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market this past year. 

—Houston: And 26.2 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in Houston chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011.

—Los Angeles: Moving over to the West Coast, 34 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in Los Angeles chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011. 

—San Francisco: In the Bay Area, 33.5 percent of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011.

—New York City: Only 32.6 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in New York City chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market this past year. 

—Philadelphia: And moving down to Pennsylvania, 34 percent of hybrid vehicle owners in Philadelphia chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011. 

— Washington. D.C.:
In the nation’s Capitol, 35.6 percent of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the car market in 2011.