With gas prices rising, car manufacturers are starting to see some of their most fuel-efficient cars fly off the shelves.

Nationwide gas prices are hitting an average of $3.51, and people are beginning to use the cost of gas as a deciding factor in their car buying deals.

Toyota Prius, which already rules the hybrid car market, saw a 69.9 percent sales increase compare to the same time last year, Autodata reported. Honda’s Civic hybrid saw a 53.8 percent increase, while sales of the Ford Fusion hybrid went up by 11.7 percent.

Of course, the trend is only beginning, and the numbers are likely to rise. A Kelley Blue Book Survey found that if gas prices hit $4 a gallon, 80 percent of consumers said it would affect their next vehicle purchase; and if gas hit $5 a gallon, about 95 percent of buyers said it would change their car choices accordingly. The survey suggests that $3.50 a gallon was the tipping point for most consumers to change their habits, and we’ve already crossed that threshold.

According to USA Today, the number of potential car buyers researching hybrids at the Edmunds.com information site nearly doubled to 400,000 from November to the end of January, in tandem with the gas price run-up.

Thankfully most automakers have been focussed on new fuel-efficient cars, so there are in a better position to handle the change than they were in 2008, when gas prices went up.

Besides hybrids, most manufacturers are also beginning to produce plug-in vehicles and other alternative-fuel cars, giving consumers more options.