Hybrids are more popular than ever as shoppers cool on EVs

• 2024 is shaping up to be the year of the hybrid.
• Hybrids appeal to a more practical green car shopper.
• Companies like Ford and Toyota are seeing hybrid bets pay off.

This year is shaping up to be a big one for hybrid cars, a segment once thought to be a relic of the pre-Tesla EV market.

After demand for electric cars pulled back suddenly in the second half of last year, 2024 has started with slowing sales of battery-powered cars. Fewer new-car shoppers are considering EVs for their next vehicle, according to JD Power, with shoppers citing a lack of access to charging infrastructure as a main reason for ruling out EVs.

That's where hybrids are getting the advantage. Interest in these vehicles — which come in plug-in varieties or come with hybrid engines that don't need to be hooked up to a charger at all — is on the rise as a new, more practical green car customer emerges.

Brands that have leaned into hybrids saw better sales results in February. Toyota, for example, reported an 84% increase in EV and hybrid sales. The Japanese automaker only sells one electric car in the US right now and has previously been criticized for its commitment to adding more hybrids to its lineup.

But in recent months, Toyota, in particular, has been proven right in its gamble on placing EVs on the back burner.

"Hybrids are just rockin,'" Toyota Motor North America's sales chief David Christ told Automotive News after it released its sales results last week.

The Toyota RAV4 SUV is one of the more popular hybrids on dealer lots. The SUV is offered with both gas-powered and hybrid engine options, but it's the hybrid RAV4 that is short in supply, Christ told Automotive News.

Among American brands, Ford notched a 31.5% increase in hybrid sales, as these vehicles lured more new customers to the Blue Oval.

These early 2024 results are promising for companies like Ford and Toyota, which placed their bets on hybrids while competitors homed in on electric cars.

At this point in the transition to EVs, Ford's Jim Baumbick, vice president of product development operations and quality, told Business Insider that freedom of choice is a high priority.

Whether a customer drives off in an EV or a hybrid, he said: "What excites us is bringing new customers to the brand."