With five hybrid models on the market now and at least four more coming before the end of the year, General Motors' hybrid sales are looking less ugly than they did in the first three months of 2008. GM is still no threat to Toyota or even Ford, but sales have been steady (if slow) for the last couple of months. For the first time in their monthly sales report for June, GM has explicitly said how many hybrids were sold. Amidst truck sales that were down 39 percent compared to June 2007, GM declared that it sold 1,149 hybrids in June for a total of 4,376 during the first half of the year.

Out of that total, the Tahoe and Yukon Two-mode hybrids accounted for 547 sales, with the Malibu and Vue mild hybrids taking 295 and 277 respectively. A grand total of thirty buyers opted for the Saturn Aura hybrid. The last time that hybrid sales were mentioned for April, about the same number of Two-mode and mild hybrid models were sold. So far, in a market where hybrids are flying off the lots of most dealers who offer them, GM's pricey two-mode trucks and tepid mild hybrids have been also rans. It will be interesting to watch and see if the significantly cheaper Chrysler hybrid SUVs can draw more interest when they appear at dealers this summer followed by the smaller Saturn Vue Two-mode later this fall.

[Source: General Motors]

Click on the image for a high-res gallery of the Two-Mode Hybrid GM SUVs

Back in 2004 General Motors first announced plans to partner with DaimlerChrysler and later also BMW to develop a full parallel hybrid drivetrain system. This system, referred to as the Two-Mode hybrid, was adapted from a system developed by GM's Allison transmission division for use on transit buses. Subsequently the three companies opened a joint development center in Troy, MI in 2006 and all three companies have applications planned although only GM and Chrysler have announced specific vehicles. BMW has yet to announce a specific vehicle and likely won't introduce their first application until 2009 or 2010. Early in 2008, Chrysler will release a version of the Dodge Durango/Chrysler Aspen equipped with the Two-Mode system and sometime after that Mercedes is expected to bring forth a hybrid ML class, possibly also equipped with a BlueTec Diesel.

General Motors has announced three vehicles that will get the new system, with the Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon being the first one coming this fall. A few months after that the Cadillac Escalade picks up the extra hardware, followed by the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra pickups and finally the Saturn Vue/Chevy Equinox. The smaller crossovers will be the first application with a transverse drivetrain in both front and all wheel drive configurations. The GMT900 platform vehicles will also be in available in both rear and all-wheel drive hybrid configurations. With the Tahoe/Yukon hybrids due to come off the Arlington, TX assembly lines in just a few months, GM felt it was time to invite some media to their Milford Proving Ground to sample the new system for the first time.

Continue reading about the first drive in these new hybrids after the jump.