Pundits started writing obituaries for green cars as gas prices fell this year. It was said that electric and hybrid vehicles would not save enough money on fuel to cater for the high up-front prices with $2-a-gallon gas. However, that is actually not the case. The personal finance of green cars is better than skeptics believe, even with today’s gas prices. May’s U.S. auto-sales reports serve as the latest evidence. According to this report, green cars’ sales for the month went up by 24% and a 10-year-high annual rate of 17.8 million was the reported overall vehicle sales. It is evident that the movement for green cars is still moving forward.

Buying a hybrid car is one of the most financially important decisions that a person can make. A basic flaw suffered by articles and studies arguing otherwise is that of making assumptions concerning the way people budget. It is up to automakers to fix much of the remainder of the shift by further lowering the prices of hybrids, especially with respect to getting leasing deals that are more aggressive. If you analyze the way most people buy cars, you will find that hybrids do save money, and right way. It is the manufacturers’ fault when such cars do not save money and a thrifty shopper has the option of checking elsewhere.

This basic question is mentioned in an April study of first quarter sales by Edmunds.com. In the study, the average savings from hybrids are compared to the price difference between hybrids and their gas-powered counterparts and goes further to divide the savings per month to the higher price. The study’s conclusion is that for a Toyota Camry Hybrid, the payback period can be as long as ten years in comparison to a conventional hybrid that cannot last for that long. To buy electric and hybrid vehicles, people do not make an extra down payment. Normally, about 85 percent of novel cars purchased are financed and the additional money is directed to the payment. Taking this into consideration, you will find that hybrid car drivers actually save money on gas.

Some automakers such as Hyundai are making the smart move of paying attention to market cues. There is about $ 1,400 price spread, which has helped in preserving the savings per month. With such a spread, a driver buying gas at $2.50 per gallon, there is a less than $25 extra payment and about $30 gas savings.