Featured For Toyota, hybrids become a tougher sell

i think it's more a matter of getting the price competitive with non hybrid models. look how well rav4h has done.

 

There is no reason for every car with an engine not to be a hybrid eventually.

 

It looks to me it's the US problem only, in Europe and Australia at least, I'm hearing hybrids are "supply constrained". Either they planed wrong or there is actually more demand for hybrids. Don't know about Asia, but I doubt there is decline in hybrid sales.

And finally Toyota is getting the market message:

"It actually has to be authentic. It has to be real," he said. "The only way to sell it is to actually have the acceleration or torque give you the feeling of something different.
"We have the ability to tune it that way," he said, "and when the next generation of hybrid technology comes out, you'll see it."​

There is great potential to make a hybrid what it always should be "a desire" and not a "fuel saving turtle".

 

Good news! Tesla has a 2017 Prius Prime, my trade-in, available for ~$18.3k. Barely used, it had just over 16,000 miles.

Bob Wilson

 

Perhaps if Toyota made some sort of effort to sell their hybrids?? It's like Commodore's "stealth advertising" scheme, as I called it, with the Amiga.

What would happen if the Toyota marketers got with some of us here on PC and we could coach them on these amazing cars?

 

idk. when you go to the dealer, and they'll sell you a well equipped camry for under 20k, only people with a desire for hybrid are willing to spend another 4-5k to get one.

 

Cut out a lot of the non-hybrid powertrains.

 

and lose customers

 

You win some. you lose some.

 

I still don't think the Hybrid bridge has been crossed.
But I think Prius, is past the point where it's easily promoted on the basis of it's panache or uniqueness as a Hybrid. But credit that to the mainstream success Toyota has been able to create. You can't simultaneously sell millions of them, and remain a unique and/or a niche product.

Right now? I think for those seeking the Pioneering feeling, the alternative vehicle panache, it's Tesla or other full electrics. That's a smaller audience.
And I think what is hurting Prius sales, is the "relatively" stable and lower gas prices.

If gas prices spike, for a substantial period of time, I think a lot of mainstream consumers would start looking at Hybrid options.

 

They are! This is why "know your audience" is so vital.

2019 brings about 4 new hybrids. Prius AWD was introduced early in the year, but has a focus on winter driving... which won't arrive until late in the year. RAV4 is a next-gen rollout, so it's facing sold-delivery & back-order situations. Corolla is a brand new hybrid for this market, so there's a lot to address simply from the dynamic that introduces. Highlander next-gen won't be available until later this year.

With all that going on, in addition to the mid-cycle upgrade of Prime and the introduction of the new look for Prius, we can see that Toyota's effort to sell is well underway with dealers... who are their primary audience, since they are the ones who actually purchase Toyota vehicles. The dealers will be working to get their salesperson trained to handle marketing later done by us... who are the secondary audience, since we'll be doing a bulk of the promotion.

Near year end, we'll very likely be getting ordinary advertising. Getting all that in place in the meantime is a major undertaking, to even just properly address the final audience... who will be driving home in one of those new hybrids.

Remember, there's a major shake-up in the EV sector right now. That will most definitely impact the rest of the automotive market. So, steering clear of that... simply by doing other stuff (like dealer prep) in the meantime... is a wise use of that beneficial delay.

 

and yet, when i go to the dealer, the hybrids are all hidden, the sales weasels are clueless, and they want to put me in a huge discount land barge

 

Your experience in the past has nothing to do with what's coming.

Again, deliveries of the new RAV4 and the hybrid Corolla are only just starting now.

 

In Canada as of 2019, I can't see a single Prius level I'd want to buy. And this is "holding my nose" over the exterior/interior styling.

I want a spare, 3-door touch to lock/unlock, don't want a sunroof, and I'd kinda like navigation. I'm outa luck, Toyota's not offering such a Prius.

I really wonder, if they're trying to kill it.

 

We were in the UK a few weeks ago ( mostly London ) and there were Gen3 Prius all over the place ( and a few 4th gen ). It literally seemed like very 4th car was a Prius. And most of the other ICE cars were relatively small...except for the luxury vehicles ( Mercedes, etc... ). Gee..I wonder if fuel costs have anything to do with it?

I still think that the USA is in a cheap fuel bubble and fuel costs have to start creeping up at some point. In fact, they already seem to be. The entire west coast seems to be $3.30-$3.5ish range. Midwest and East coast seem to be creeping up to $3. The only place fuel seems to be 'cheap' are in the southern states. I honestly don't know how these people with the big souped up trucks I see all over can afford it.

 

dear john,

didn't you tell me a few years ago that toyota was training the dealer sales staff in hybrid sales?

 

101 Introduction to Hybrids
201 Transition from Traditional

See the difference?

 

yes, but the sales weasels don't. they only see the bottom line