Twilight Of The Elephants: Bulky Hybrid SUVs Not In Demand Anymore

Between ever-increasing fuel prices, low market demand, and progressively stringent CAFE standards, it seems that the age of the “American-sized” SUVs, especially hybrid models, is coming to a close. USA Today reports that up-and-coming buyers are, on the whole, not interested in vehicles that can, say, seat seven passengers and haul a boat to the lake.

For General Motors, the major changes have been to discontinue building the hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Tahoe, and GMC Yukon. Despite the increased fuel mileage of these models–the most recent Escalade, for example, touted a 21 mpg average over the non-hybrid version’s 16mpg–the market is rapidly disappearing. “No one bought [the Escalades]–and they were great,” said David Schiavone, marketing manager for the Escalade.

Compare this to 2007 and 2008, when it seemed like “Flex Fuel” and “Plug-in Hybrid” offerings would help save the industry from the inevitable cave-in, and the present seems a little foreboding. What was then a stopgap measure to prevent buyers from altogether giving up on full-size utes with wheelbases over 110 inches, now seems no longer capable of keeping the market interested. We’ll have to see just how the 2015 refresh goes toward keeping folks attracted (which so far has reportedly been positive, with a 108 percent sales spike since they went up for sale in February).

Nevertheless, other companies don’t want to give up on the hybrid SUV just yet. Infiniti’s QX60, for example, has a hybrid offering that grabs 10 percent of sales of the vehicle despite the up-charge of $3,000. Likewise, Nissan is looking to capitalize on its forthcoming Pathfinder Hybrid.

What do you think of this turn of events? Leave your comment below.