Sales trend: Sept to Current, 2012

You just made me laugh out loud. Toyota is pricing their pack at over $1,000 per kilowatt hour. It's either embarassingly expensive or buyers are being ripped off.

 

Current pricing is a red-herring. Warranties won't be expiring anytime soon.

4.4 kWh is the item of discussion. Cost of that will clearly be less than Ford's 7.5 and GM's 16.5 capacity.

 

Cost to toyota yes, but cost for a customer we have no idea. Given Toyota's pricing versus GMs, it is likely the prius phv battery will not be substantially less expensive than the volt. That is unless you have some information that toyota is changing its replacement battery pricing practices. I am not sure why you think it is important to the consumer that toyota is more profitable on replacement batteries.

 

It never started at $52K. It started at $57,400 before tax credits (and I believe not including destination charge). It now starts at $59,900 before tax credits (2013 Model S Price Increase | Blog | Tesla Motors).

 

The 52K is after tax credits as reported on their site.

 

It's a form of mildly deceptive advertising... just like they claimed the base Model S started at $49,900 (AFTER tax credit), prior to the recent price increase.

 

GM December 2012 Sales up 4.9%, up 3.7% For the Year - CleanMPG Forums

 

I

That provides a different way of looking at the market and where hybrids are, they are about 3% of the total or about a much as VW and infron of BW, MB Subaru Mazada Audi...). Plug-ins (including BEVs) were about .3%, or as much as Land Rover, and more than Porche, Mitsubshi, Suzuki, or Jaguar.

 

The count is now available for the plug-in model: 971

 

Bob, thanks for putting the chart together.

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Obviously after 10+ years, the original Prius is still the best seller. I hope Toyota walks a tightrope and keeps the best attributes of the liftback while sweetening the pot. For me that would be a little more size, little more power (148 total), no floating bridge of course, softer materials and more fun to drive, hold it at 50 mpg avg and ....

price decrease .... starting at $23,500 (made in US might help)

I don't think they'll mess up the liftback. Too important as it's the hybrid and plug-in hybrid chassis.

Chances of only having plug in version? zero. Batteries are not nearly good enough for that.

 

1) Batteries will definitely be good enough in 2015 for a plug-in only version. I think this will be a different model than the Prius though. The prius has a brand as a hybrid, and forcing it to be a plug-in may hurt sales. Perhaps in the near future Toyota will make a different car that is phev and bev only

2) I like the way you think on improving it, I think with the aqua/prius c could increase size, but that is getting into camry hybrid territory. I expect a slightly different shape with slightly lower weight an improved chasis/suspension but no significant change in size.

 

Funny, Toyota is already onto expanding the hybrid line (IE: Prius C and Prius V - both had higher sales numbers in Dec. than the Volt).

Toyota will be applying the HSD technology by 2015 to other product lines.
Once again GM is a laggard, missing capturing market share. Not to worry, Toyota is doing that for GM.

DBCassidy

 

GM better have goal(s), if not, then GM is really beyond being messed up, their DONE.

DBCassidy

 

Dealerships have no problem selling the Cruze. IIRC, the ratio is for every Volt sold, 10 Cruzes are sold. The dealers are happy, the Cruze is indeed a profit center.

DBCassidy

 

The Volt is the technology that GM is planning to apply to other product lines. The big question is: when?
Timing is everything, if GM wants to increase market share, they need to accelerate the application to other product lines.

Toyota is increasing their market share, GM must be nervous with this.

DBCassidy

 

Prius (all models) = 236,659

Cruze (+ Cobalt) = 237,769

That's pretty much a tie, even without taking into account the fact that C and PHV weren't available right away. For that matter, PHV is still limited.

Anywho, the point is that there's a clear effort on Toyota's part to push hybrids deep into the mainstream. Being able to sale as many as another top-selling vehicle is obvious proof.

 

Thought this would be next for GM!

But instead, GM is about to unveil this! GM Unveils 2014 Cadillac ELR Teaser Photo Ahead of Next Week's Detroit Auto Show Debut | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

 

W

We have known about this since the summer. It was unknown if it would be a 2014 my or 2015 my. That means we can expect a voltec 1.5 sometime this year in an improved Chevy volt.