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Featured How the Prius rebounded in Mexico

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Tideland Prius, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    http://www.autonews.com/article/20161016/RETAIL01/310179861/how-the-prius-rebounded-in-mexico
     
    #1 Tideland Prius, Oct 24, 2016
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  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    This makes a lot of sense considering how bad Mexico City air can be:

    Also helping the Prius this year: the Mexico City metro area, home to 40 percent of Prius sales, is implementing stricter smog-fighting regulations that bar cars from the roads on certain days based on their license plate numbers. The Prius is exempt.​

    Breathing is important.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #2 bwilson4web, Oct 24, 2016
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  3. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Mexico, with a very weak economy and no governmental subsidies, it is not a shocker to know the low sales of an expensive vehicle.
     
    #3 mrbigh, Oct 24, 2016
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Yet Toyota brought the price down to $18-21k. We need more technical details. Is one the functional equivalent of the Level 2 ECO? Battery type?

    Bob Wilson
     
    #4 bwilson4web, Oct 24, 2016
  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I remember reading on this site that the gen3 in Mexico didn't have exhaust heat recovery. generally warmer climate means warm penalty isn't has high, so such equipment can be dropped.
     
    #5 Trollbait, Oct 24, 2016
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  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    That one didn't sell well. We need to find out what they are selling now. Without the exhaust heat recovery, it still delays low emissions. Also the Gen-4 taps AFTER the catalytic converter, a much better tap.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #6 bwilson4web, Oct 24, 2016
  7. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    #7 bwilson4web, Oct 24, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2016
  8. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Leaving options and subsystems off is one way to reduce price, but a favorable exchange rate between the yen and peso could also do it.
     
    #8 Trollbait, Oct 24, 2016
  9. Azucena Orozco

    Azucena Orozco New Member

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    Somebody know why the Prius Prime is not coming to Mexico? :(

    pd. Sorry if this question doesn't goes here, but is my first participation.
     
    #9 Azucena Orozco, Nov 2, 2016
  10. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Welcome to PriusChat. Not to worry, our hard working, underpaid moderators will handle any problems.

    The mix of Prius and options remains a confounding problem. For example, the Gen-4 Prius has a Toyota engineered towing option but outside of Japan, it is only available in the UK. Worse, many countries like Australia and various EU countries only have a limited choice of configurations. But part of the problem may also be country specific, safety regulations about things like head and tail lights. In the USA, emissions.

    In spite of NAFTA, I can't go to Canada to buy a Prius with options they have that we can't get in the USA. When I investigated, it turns out that in addition to the I'd have to get a letter from Toyota USA that the Canadian Prius meets the USA emissions standards.

    There are reports that Mexican Prius don't have the exhaust-heat recovery hardware that warms up the engine faster. In colder climate areas, exhaust heat recovery is important for low emissions when the car starts. Regardless, my understanding is the country specific Toyota corporation chooses what they import.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #10 bwilson4web, Nov 2, 2016
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  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You'll have to ask the Mexican branch of Toyota. Each country has its own marketing team that can assist in determining what the local market wants and what Toyota can sell. Maybe it's because it'll be too expensive (Toyota will have to make modifications for each country they sell it in to meet local requirements) or because there isn't a large enough market. There are many reasons but only Toyota of Mexico will know. We're just speculating.

    Say what? Most Canadian vehicles follow U.S. standards for cost reasons (no need to recertify for emissions or safety etc). And most of Canadian regulations mimic the U.S. for the same reason (we got rid of that 5mph bumper standard a while back). The main differences of course is DRL and French labels.

    We can import almost all U.S. cars. If I wanted to buy from Dianne, I could just show up with USD (pretty sure TFS won't finance a Canadian lol) and import papers for the border (usually a good idea to call the border crossing ahead of time to let them know you'll be crossing with intention to import a vehicle but it's not necessary), get the temp registration from the dealer and then drive it across the border after paying GST and PST (if applicable). Then get it certified for Canadian roads (have it inspected as if you were moving to a different province) and show proof of certification to get your plates and insurance.

    I didn't realise the reverse was more complicated.
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Nov 2, 2016
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  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Seeing how we were illegally taxing Canadian lumber under NAFTA for years, should this be a surprise?
     
    #12 Trollbait, Nov 3, 2016
  13. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    Mercedes-Benz USA needs to protect their profits, you know.

    Importing cars to the US in general is a huge pain, requiring letters from the automaker saying that that vehicle meets US standards, and if it you don't get that letter, it needs to go through a registered importer, who will crash test the car, modify it as necessary to meet US crash safety standards (including replacing glass, lighting, and instrumentation), emissions test the car, modify it as necessary to meet US emissions regulations, and then sign off on the conversion to US spec. Or, just wait 25 years. All of this is because of Mercedes-Benz USA trying to protect their profits from overpricing their cars, to the point that people were flying to Germany, buying cars there, and shipping them back.
     
    #13 bhtooefr, Nov 4, 2016
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  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Wow.

    Yeah when our dollar hit parity, MB Canada Inc. was one of the few (only?) manufacturers that would not honour any warranty if a Canadian imported a US-spec car. They will service it but any recall or warranty work will not be done and you'll have to take it to a US dealership.

    Also, up here, 15 years is the limit for importing grey market cars with minimal modifications. So of course there are 15 year old JDM cars here :). The Delica and diesel Hilux/Land Cruiser seem to be popular choices (after the initial rush of R32s in the late 2000s)
     
    #14 Tideland Prius, Nov 4, 2016
  15. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    (Mea culpa. Mea culpa maxima.)
    When I flew to Germany, bought a new BMW motorcycle, drove it all over Europe, and then imported it back to the USA a month later, the extensive driving it over there would allow you to import it as a used vehicle and not have to pay full purchase taxes on it. Similarly, importing for private use allowed exemptions from US safety standards (but I bought a USA spec version of the BMW just in case). That was years ago and not sure how the game is played now.
     
    #15 Robert Holt, Nov 4, 2016
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