Hi mates, Greetings from Hong kong. Just want to share with you that Prius C just start selling yesterday Feb 7th 2012 in Hong Kong region. Price at HK$219K (US$28K), this is already 30% cheaper than Prius III in Hong Kong. Toyota car price in HK Pls search "crown motors price list eng" in google Prius C information is also available by searching "Prius C hk" It didn't come with moon roof and navi options. But includes leather seats, 9 air bags, LED head light, 185/60/R15 alloy wheels etc.... :cheer2:
Not bad esp. if it already includes SofTex and LED headlights (we don't get that option in the US but I've seen photos of the Japanese version with LEDs)
Not bad esp. if it already includes SofTex and LED headlights (we don't get that option in the US but I've seen photos of the Japanese version with LEDs)
Jp Yen kept rising and $28K is considered best buy in this city already. Jazz (fit) without hybrid is selling around $26K here.
Yikes! That's expensive. I'm assuming you are quoting in US dollars and not HK dollars. Are there many JP cars in HK? How do the prices compare to S.Korean cars? Are there many hybrids? What about S.Korean cars (Hyundai) ? What do HK people think of S.Korean products? I'm just curious. Thanks. Here in Southern California, USA, there are a lot of Japanese cars and South Korean cars. Aside from cars, ...In general, there seems to be a shift going on in electronics from JP brands to S.Korean brands (LG & Samsung are growing fast in the US).
I also assume that the Jazz is also fairly well-equipped (Canadian and American versions tend to have less equipment to allow for a lower staritng price. In addition, we don't have many high-end options to keep the prices down and minimise encroachment to the next class or two up - i.e. Corolla and Camry). US$2,000 difference. That seems reasonable.
i would not be surprised if the difference is due to the different importers working differently. If it is like in Europe, high pricing is mostly due to the high prices. Depending on the country and price of the car, taxes in Europe go from 35% to 150% on the base price of the vehicle. Hence Prius base costing 40k in my country... or RXh 100k.
Yes in US$ for easier reference to everyone :cheer2: Unlike electronic market, HK car market is still dominated by Japanese / European cars. Due to the fact that owning a car here is much expensive, for low-mid end market, it is dominated by Toyota / Honda especially you'll see a lot of new Ractis, Jazz etc. on street. There is also a high demand for 7 seater like Noah / Stepwgn / Serena, but I won't say they are catering for low entry market as base model starts from 35K already. For high end market, it is dominated by "Twin B" here....Benz / BMW...with a bit of market share to Audi. Too many Benz / BMW on street just like what you will see in LA. Recently, VW did a great job to cut the low-mid end market due to weak Euros and they are able to sell their Golf at around $25K-$29K...very competitive to Jazz and other Japanese car with similar grade. Now they are entering the 7seater market but at the moment it is still behind. Korean car is still not the trend because HK users are reluctant to change the old mind that Japanese car is more durable and Eurpoean car is more prestige.
Suprisingly no although gasoline is over $8/Gallon here. We've seen more and more hybrid on street but density-wise it is still not a lot. Few reasons: 1) HK is small and car milage is low (usually below 1,000miles/month) Savings in gasoline is not substantial. 2) Prius is priced above a normal Camry here....basic version $38k. 3) New prius is 1.8L and our government charge car licence fee in an old way by displacement and 1.5L is the line. 4) People still think the battery will worn out easily...they always think the car battery needs to be replaced in 5 years like Li cell battery. 5) Not many garage is able to provide maintaince. It is very costly taking back to the dealer for check-up ~$400 each time. If paying $38k for a Prius, people would think why not adding a few thousand for an Audi? ..... On the other hand, RX450h is selling good in HK although it cost $90k. People in luxury market see things differently.........
Fyw709, Thank you for the replies. I understand your point. Hong Kong is small and there's a lot of money. No need to buy a Prius over a full size luxury car when you only drive a few miles to work. My next door neighbor drives 2 miles to work. He has a BMW 5 Series. He doesn't need to worry about mpg. I drive 48 miles each way (more than most people), so I care a lot about mpg. Also, during my drive, I see A LOT of other cars on the highway, driving far. If we all had better mpg, it would add up to a lot of savings in gasoline for our country as a whole. Japanese people have the right mentality - they are buying LOTS of hybrids. In your situation, it's a small area, so you don't drive very far (in general, it seems), so mpg matters less for your country. Of course, you could all be driving electric cars though!
Yes. But sadly Nissan doesn't seem to care about small market like HK. Not many Leaf assigned and selling at $54K here....almost double US price after tax rebate. Another hurdle is HK public in general is living in apartment which makes charging very difficult, if not impossible, in car park.
