GAINESVILLE, Ga. -

The volume of hybrid and plug-in cars is growing, and Black Book’s Ricky Beggs says hybrid price retention is closing the gap versus sister gas models.

According to www.hybridcars.com, the level of hybrid-only penetration has grown from 3.15 percent of the market in 2012 to a current level of 3.34 percent through April; electric versions currently stand at .56 percent.

And these models seem to be holding their value almost as well as their traditional fuel counterparts.
 
Beggs, senior vice president and managing editor at Black Book, contends that when comparing hybrid versus gas retention among 2007, 2010 and 2013 models, hybrids appear to be “closing the gap.”

For example, the actual retention after three years for the hybrid cars for the 2007 models was 47.9 percent.

And for the 2010 models, retention has improved to 52.8 percent of the original equipped retail price, Beggs reported.

And when compared to the non-hybrid sister models the actual retention is slightly stronger for both the 2007 models and the 2010 models at 52.2 percent and 55.7 percent, respectively. 

Black Book’s predictions for future hybrid retention rates: The company expects this trend variance to continue with the 2013 models currently being offered with a projected retention of 50.4 percent for the hybrids and 3.6 points better for the gas only versions at 54.0 percent.

Beggs also pointed out that “the trucks haven’t trended exactly as the cars.”

Beggs reported that the 2007 model hybrid trucks three-year end of term retention of 51.0 percent compares to the sister gas-only trucks with a rate of 48.4 percent.

For the 2010 models, in part because there are “more players and more overall volume,”  the hybrids are actually retaining a lower percentage of equipped retail than the gas only versions: 56.1 percent for hybrids compared to  59.5 percent for the gas-only models, Black Book shared.

Black Book predicts 2013 model-year hybrid truck retention at 53.6 percent, while sister gas models will be at a very narrow difference of 54.0 percent.
 
“As this portion of the market has grown in both the number of players and the retention, acceptability of the hybrid models has improved,” Beggs said. “Closer projection variations will continue, along with more players being available. The level of gas prices, closer to current levels or reaching near the $5 level, will ultimately be the driver in the same level or more interest and actual retention.”

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