Having a popular, effective and well-received product apparently isn’t enough to get consumers to actually re-purchase it.

That’s the hard lesson being learned by car manufacturers. Despite ever-rising gas prices, and the consumer kvetching that goes with it, drivers who bought hybrid cars (and seemingly wouldn’t stop talking about how great they are) generally aren’t buying a second one when it’s time to trade-in for a newer model.

That’s the finding of a new study by R.L. Polk. In fact, only 35% of hybrid owners who purchased a second vehicle opted for another hybrid.

Some car brands fared better than others: Toyota Prius owners were most likely to buy another hybrid car, but fewer than half (41% ) chose either a hybrid offered by either Toyota or a competing brand. Less than 20% of Honda hybrid customers bought another gas-electric vehicle.

The study authors suggested that the average 7-10 year time-frame for hybrids’ fuel efficiency to make up for their higher up-front cost is a key factor in the lack of loyalty, but the increasing number of other fuel-efficient alternatives is also causing buyers to look elsewhere.

Tags: hybrids, loyalty, R.L. Polk, research