We have been trying to sell hybrid service packages to customers who did not see the point for two years. Gas at $4.50 nationally following the Iran situation has done more for hybrid consideration in our service lane than any OEM campaign I have seen. Customers who came in for oil changes on their gas vehicles are now asking about hybrid trade-in values unprompted. The demand signal is real and it is happening fast. The problem for our store is that hybrid inventory on the models people actually want is thin. We are taking names and telling people to wait. That is not a sales process. That is a waiting list and we need OEM allocation support to match what the market is asking for right now.
May 12, 2026 - 00:38
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The part that is going to…
The part that is going to sting is that OEM allocation for the hybrids people actually want, RAV4, Camry, CR-V, has been constrained for months because production was calibrated to a demand forecast that assumed gas stayed under four dollars. Now the demand is here and the cars are not. We spent two years being told hybrid was the safe middle path. It is the safe middle path. We just cannot sell enough of them because nobody in the supply chain believed the gas price scenario enough to build inventory for it.
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