DETROIT, March 15 Reuters As U.S. sales of gaselectric hybrid vehicles surge and electricvehicle sales cool, automakers and suppliers are betting consumer demand for a compromise between allcombustion and allelectric is a durable trend.

Automakers and suppliers are adding capacity to build gasolineelectric hybrid and plugin hybrid vehicles for the U.S. market, responding to increased consumer demand for technology that General Motors and other automakers once planned to phase out in favor of allelectric fleets, industry executives and analysts said.

U.S. sales of hybrids grew five times faster than EV sales in February, Morgan Stanley said. A plugin hybrid version of the Jeep Wrangler SUV accounted for half of total U.S. Wrangler sales in the second half of 2023, up from 37 in the first half of the year, Stellantis said.

Sales of Ford Motor hybrids rose nearly 37 during the first two months of the year, driven by demand for the hybrid Maverick compact truck that starts at 25,315.

The hottest car on our lot right now is the Maverick hybrid, said Scott Simmers, general manager at Palm Springs Motors in Cathedral City, California.

The hybrid Maverick now accounts for about half the model39;s sales and dealers said they could sell more if Ford could build them.

We had to rush to add capacity for Maverick, Jim Baumbick, Ford vice president for product development, told Reuters. We added a whole third shift to respond to demand.

The industry shift toward hybrids…