Ford Motor Co. is gaining on Honda Motor Co. for the No. 2 spot among hybrid vehicle sellers in the United States.

Toyota Motor Corp. leads all automakers in U.S. hybrid sales by a wide margin, selling more than all of its rivals combined.

Paced by the Ford Fusion and Escape hybrids, Ford sold 26,016 hybrid vehicles during the first nine months of 2009 -- a 73 percent gain in hybrid vehicle sales compared with the same period a year ago, according to figures compiled by the Automotive News Data Center.

Honda, led by the Insight and Civic hybrids, held the No. 2 spot. It sold 29,958 hybrids during the nine-month period, a gain of 8 percent from the year-earlier period.

Toyota continues to sell the vast majority of U.S. hybrids, with a total of 144,351 over the nine months. But with Prius sales down 20 percent, Toyota's total U.S. hybrid sales fell 28 percent in the first nine months.

3% of the market

The total U.S. hybrid market declined 15 percent over the nine months to 220,594, slipping in part because gasoline prices were stable at around $2.50 a gallon through the summer and fall. Hybrid vehicles accounted for about 3 percent of the 7.8 million vehicles sold in the first nine months.

Ford trumpeted its hybrid gains in a statement released yesterday. “More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda,” David Finnegan, Ford hybrid marketing manager, said in the statement.

Ford overtook Honda in monthly hybrid sales in July by 2,089 vehicles and again in September by 240 units. For the full nine months, Honda was still 3,942 hybrid sales ahead of Ford.

General Motors finished fourth in the U.S. hybrid market with 12,556 units through September, up 39 percent from a year earlier. Increased sales of the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and several SUV hybrids led the gains.

Nissan Motor Co. was a distant fifth in the market in the first nine months, selling 7,713 hybrids, up 7 percent.

Prius, Camry lead

The Toyota Prius remains the No. 1 selling hybrid with 104,794 in sales through the first nine months, followed by the Camry Hybrid with 18,502.

Honda's Insight emerged as the top-selling non-Toyota hybrid with 15,791 vehicles sold through September. The Civic Hybrid was next with 14,166.

The Ford Escape Hybrid followed with 12,009 and the Fusion Hybrid was next with 11,468.