The chart below gives information on the global sale of hybrid vehicles* between 2006 and 2009. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. * vehicles that use both fuel and electricity

The chart shows how many hybrid vehicles were sold in

Japan

, the US and the rest of the world from 2006 to 2009. During

this

time, total

sales

more than doubled from 360,000 to 740,000.

However

, the trends in the US and

Japan

were very different.

According to

the data,

sales

were high in the US, but the pattern fluctuated.

While

they rose by 100,000 from 2006 to 2007, they peaked in 2007 at 350,000. After that, there was a steady fall to 280,000 in 2009.

On the other hand

,

sales

in

Japan

were much lower at the start. They rose gradually to 90,000 in 2008, but

then

they jumped to 330,000 in 2009.

Sales

in the rest of the world increased steadily from 50,000 to 120,000 during the four-year period.

Overall

, the data show that more hybrid vehicles were bought in the US than in any other country.

However

, in 2009,

Japan

overtook the US and became the country where most vehicles were sold.