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The HybridCars.com monthly sales dashboard is a collaboration of HybridCars.com and Baum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm focusing on automotive issues including the hybrid and electric vehicle market.

The hybrid and electric market ended the year with a bit of a whimper, although there were some positive results mixed in with a generally down month.

The hybrid, plug-in, and diesel segments declined, while full electric vehicles had a very good month. The obvious reason given by most “experts” for these results is the low cost of fuel, but the marketing strategies of the automakers and the differing results for key products also played a big role.

For the year, plug-in vehicles and battery electrics saw growth well ahead of the overall market, while hybrid and diesel products trailed.

The overall market experienced exceptional results, with trucks (broadly defined to include crossovers, pickups, vans, and SUVs) continuing to sell at a stronger pace than cars. This has been true for several months and is a key reason why many hybrid and electric vehicles have struggled since their product portfolio is oriented towards cars.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles as a share of the total market were at 0.26 percent in line with recent months, although trailing the year-to-date result. For the year, plug-ins were at 0.34 percent which was in line with 2013. The Volt remains the category leader, but sales remain down due to reduced production and marketing efforts by GM. The showing of the new Volt at the North American International (Detroit) Auto Show in mid-January may increase interest in the new product, but it will not be available to the public until this coming Fall. For the year, Volt sales were down almost 20 percent, while Ford’s plug-in hybrid entries (Fusion and C-Max) increased by 50 percent (even with mileage restatements reducing their fuel economy numbers). Sales of the Prius Plug-in increased by 10 percent.

Battery electrics had a strong month on the backs of the category leaders, the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, and BMW i3 (although some i3s include a small range extender engine). Their sales increased in December at a greater rate than the market as a whole, particularly with respect to December 2013. Those three products did far better than the overall market for the month and with the exception of the Model S (down due to global sales reducing availability for the U.S.) for the year. For the month, the segment’s share was at 0.50 percent, its highest share ever. The year ended at 0.39 percent which also represents an all-time high and an increase from 0.31 percent in 2013. The Leaf of course is the category leader, but a growing number of products are allowing the segment to grow. The Mercedes B-Class, VW e-Golf and Kia Soul are all new to the market and their sales are increasing.

Hybrid volumes had a tough month, with the share of the market at 2.22 percent, which is the lowest level since October 2011. For the year, that share was 2.75 percent, also the lowest since 2011. The Toyota Prius Liftback improved from last month, but was down 15 percent for the year. Summing across the three varieties of Prius hybrids (Liftback, c, and v), sales were down 13 percent for the year. Ford’s two high-volume hybrids, the Fusion and C-Max, saw their volumes decreased by 16 percent. Conversely, sales of the Lincoln MKZ hybrid were up by a third. GM’s hybrids were down significantly (by 15,000 units) as they transition from mild hybrids to powertrains that include start/stop systems often described as “micro hybrids” (which we do not include as part of the hybrid category). The Lexus NX 300h is new to the market this month with hybrids representing 11 percent of total model sales.

Diesel volume is continuing at the lower levels of recent months, with a share of 0.65 percent which trails full year 2014 results of 0.84 percent (as compared to 2013 share of 0.89 percent). As always, the Jetta and Passat (the category leaders) determine the status of the category and they remain at levels below that of previous periods. For the year, the Jetta, Passat, and Golf were all 15 to 18 percent below 2013 levels. The Cruze ended the year at almost 6,000 units, representing only 2.2 percent of US sales. Pricing is a clear issue here, with the diesel option paired with additional content resulting in pricing beyond the reach of many of the model’s customers. Conversely, the BMW X5 and Audi Q5 diesels both show strong growth for the year, in line with strong sales of the underlying vehicles and their category (luxury crossovers).