The following Globe and Mail article refers to the low demand for hybrid vehicles, as a result of the high upfront cost.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/cheney/hybrids-vs=
-hot-wheels-its-not-easy-being-green/article2339425/page2/
-hot-wheels-its-not-easy-being-green/article2339425/page2/
In the graphs below, I have used fictional numbers in order to depict the elasticity of demand for the hybrid car. The top half of the demand curve is highly elastic. As price decreases from 30,000 to 15,000, total revenue continues to increase. The highest total revenue is reached at the point of unitary elasticity, where the coefficient is equal to 1 and the price 15,000. The demand becomes inelastic at the bottom half of the demand curve. Between the prices of 10,000 to 0, the total revenue decreases along with the price.
Although green cars provide the long term advantage of saving in fuel costs, and contributing to efforts to save our planet, for the consumer, this does not outweigh the extra expense.
References
Cheney, Peter (2012, Feb 15). Hybrids vs. hot wheels: It's not easy being green.
The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from;
