Forbes - Honda hybrids are taking some market share from Toyota hybrids

Forbes are geniuses. New CR-Z sells 1900 units and Toyota/Lexus has older models. Of course Honda's share will grow.

New Prius models and CT model is coming.

Fun fact. The 43k-60k RX 450h sells as well/better than the Insight and CR-Z.

HS is a flop.

 

People are probably putting off purchases in anticipation of the Volt and Leaf, but the Leaf's 2011 production is largely spoken for, and the Volt sticker shock will probably send most who need to purchase a car back to Toyota and Ford.

 

If one looks at the figures at http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/document/October_PR_Sales_Chart.pdf vs American Honda Reports October 2010 Sales Increase of 19.8 Percent, one can see that HCH sales are down 59.3% YTD vs. down 2% YTD for the Prius. Even if you sum up CR-Z, Insight and HCH sales YTD, they're WELL short of Insight + HCH sales for this point last year.

In October 09, Honda sold a whopping 239 HCHs + 1,739 Insights in the US vs. Prius' 13,496.

Honda's still getting totally clobbered by Toyota in terms of US hybrid sales.

 

The Dashboard report came out:

October 2010 Dashboard: Hybrid Car Sales Returned to Life in October | Hybrid Cars

This is my greatest concern. The race is with the gassers and oil-burners, and shifting the slices in the hybrid pie is not nearly as important as making the hybrid pie grow by taking low-milege vehicles off the road.

The Honda Insight owners are getting similar to Prius mileage according to the EPA owner reports. This is good and the next grouping are the sedan shaped Fusion and Camry. But what we need to see are the down-market hybrids, in fact all hybrids, to take market share from the less efficient vehicles. That is the challenge.

Bob Wilson

 

^^^ I predict things will get better for hybrids.
1. New CT, Sonata, Camry hybrid coming
2. Honda IMA and new hybrid system coming
3. Germans are investing in hybrids.
4. Oil prices are going up (gotdamn FED's QE crap) so gas is going up. Higher gas prices=people buy hybrids

20k a month Prius sales might be right around the corner again.

 

Truck sales in October are going great guns. A lot of "buying now while I can" going on in my opinion. Now that the Rs have the House and can stop the new gas mileage targets maybe the truck buyers will slow down.

 

The new mileage targets are a regulatory action by the executive branch. They cannot be stopped by the House alone.

 

Yeah, and with more hybrids around the corner Toyota's sales can suffer. I'm still planning on buying a plug-in Prius when released, but we'll see what else is out by then, maybe I'll wind up buying a Honda, who knows!

 

My memory is that the new MPG targets were set by the administration of an executive named Bush, an R. Obama merely shortened the existing schedule by about four years.

 

All these new Priuses and hybrids are cool....but there's nothin like owning the good ol' Iconic Prius baby!