Anything connected with the ``green'' movement appears to be gaining popularity in Korea but there is a major exception  hybrid cars.

Sales of such vehicles are heading downward due to high prices and Toyota's recalls.

Hybrid cars are powered by both a conventional internal combustion engine and an electric propulsion system.

They are touted as being eco-friendly and energy-efficient. According to the nation's automakers, Sunday, the number of these vehicles sold in February was 591, accounting for just 0.5 percent of the overall market, down from 0.6 percent in January.

Hyundai Motor's Avante hybrid sold 266 last month, just over half of the 526 it sold in January. Its monthly sales topped 1,000 after its debut in July through September but the figure plunged to 627 in October and 485 in December. Over the same period, the Forte hybrid of Kia Motors also failed to make its presence felt in the domestic market as its sales plummeted from 615 last September to 307 in November to 78 this January.

Things are also bad for imported cars as demonstrated by the performance of the Toyota Prius hybrid, whose monthly sales decreased from 128 last October to 54 last month. It was included on Toyota's recent recall list. Most other hybrid editions from popular foreign brands fail to sell more than 10 vehicles a month.

``Despite large subsidies and tax incentives, the sales of hybrids are weaker than originally expected. They will eventually take root since an increasing number of people care about the environment, but not in the very near future,'' a Seoul analyst said.

``The relatively high price tags of the models and the recent recalls of Toyota's hybrid cars seem to be negatively affecting consumer sentiment toward the new type of vehicles.'' The Korean government offers tax incentives amounting to 3 million won ($2,630) for buyers of hybrid cars. Plus, Hyundai Motor started providing price cuts of up to 2.9 million won this month.

Still, observers point out that they are still too expensive for most motorists. For example, the Avante hybrid costs more than 17.5 million won even after the tax benefits and company subsidies. By contrast, the traditional Avante is priced at 11 million won.

In comparison to the struggling eco-friendly cars, energy-consuming sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are selling briskly. Consumers snapped up 18,704 Hyundai SUV models during the first two months of this year, up 70 percent from the corresponding period of 2009 SUV Sales for Kia more than doubled during the same span.