Prius Price Increase Coming?

They need to pay for all their new ad campaigns. I'm seeing new slick commercial and print ads everywhere. They're really making the Prius not only be a WISE car selection but a COOL one as well. op2:

 

From the article I inferred a 6% price increase. Thanks for posting

 

IF this is true.. no bueno for a lot of people.

I don't think the changes made warrant a rise in price, especially when competition is where it is atm.

This also goes against what Toyota reps said at a the green drive expo. "because of the economy and where things are at, we want to keep prices the same for the models"

a few hundred bucks maybe.. but not over a 1k.

 

There has never been a company that tells the public they're going to increase prices. They always tell you they're not going to raise them and then they do anyway. Pretty much SOP. I don't see this increase being that significant and seems to be inline with other car manufactures.

 

How so? Honda has not increased their prices, hyundai has not increased their prices.

Or am I missing something?

 

That's not true. Toyota has announced their price increases before. Nissan did too w/the 2012 Leaf, for example.

 

I read several versions of this article over the weekend and it seems all of them reference the Japanese pricing. Wasn't sure if it was a given that it would necessarily translate to increases in the US market as well. Has anyone confirmed that is the case?

 

Good point...

I suppose until we heard word from Toyota "officially"... it is still unclear as to where the price stands.

 

Not really. There are plenty of other cars to choose from. This will just help steer me in the direction of a Kia Optima SX.

Or maybe still a Prius V or Camry hybrid.

I'm confused by the report though. '12 Prius pricing hasn't been annouced but 12' Prius PHV has. Just because most companies charge more for wagons then sedans, I had kinda of just assumed that the '12 Prius would be cheaper than a '12 Prius V.

Or is the price going up on ALL Prius variations?

What about a Camry Hybrid? Since they're blaming metals and yen, I would think that price is going up to?

When does the price change take effect? No point in me waiting if come Nov or Dec, the '12 Prius or '12 Camry hybrid is going to cost almost 2k more. I can just go get my optima SX now.

 

No idea, but the yen/dollar exchange rate has been KILLING Japanese automakers. See 1 us dollar in yen from january 1, 2008 to today - Wolfram|Alpha. Try changing the year to say 2001 or 2010.

From articles like Yen Strength Seen Costing Toyota More Than Record Quake: Cars- Bloomberg

34 billion yen right now is ~435 million US dollars.

Carlos Ghosn (of Nissan) has been complaining of this too. See http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...normal-we-won-t-live-much-longer-deviant.html.

 

The price is going up on all imported goods. Dollar goes down in value, you need more of them to buy the same stuff. Basic foreign trade ideology. A dollar is always a dollar in the states, but outside of this bubble it varies. It has now varied so that it is worth less, so you need more to buy something that would have cost less before.

It is not a question of if they will raise prices, but when. And since all the US automakers make things outside of the US (like Canada and Mexico with factories in the far east as well) it will be a price increase across the board.

It is surprising they have not raised it more.

Honda, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai, and everyone of them either have to a) raise the price of their cars or b) take a lower profit margin on each car hoping to make up for it in volume.

 

makes all of our "used" prius' more valuable.. I am all for it!

 

Solution is simple - Toyota needs to start manufacturing the Prius here instead of Japan to avoid exposing themselves to exchange rate fluctuations and a strong Yen.

 

Doesn't account for all the parts needed. Assembly is a small fraction of total cost. And assembling in the states means higher prices when shipped back out to Japan or China. Like it or not, China is much more important to appease right now.

 

You haven't checked the domestic content label on a US made Camry recently, have you? It's probably the most American made car sold today.

Hint: Camry is 92% domestic while the Camry Hybrid is 59% domestic - both are far more domestic than the 0% domestic Prius (OK, the Prius might have a percent or two of domestic content).

 

Yes but they don't sell nearly any camry vehicles (hybrid or regular) outside of the north american market.

Prius sales:



They don't even sell the Camry is Europe anymore and in Japan it doesn't do very well. It is one of the best selling cars in the US though, so it makes sense to make it here.

 

Americans have cooled off to Prius in the last couple years. Recession, apparent UI problems haven't helped.

No way Toyota will raise the price $1500 from a 2011 Two to a 2012 Two, etc....

Hard enough to sell a Prius over a Corolla when the ads sport a Prius Two for $22.5k while a Corolla is $15.5k ....

Many people still equate a Prius to a Corolla. I don't, but others do.

 

I understand the economics behind it all. I suppose that my question is whether Toyota is actually planning to increase the price in the US market considering the state of the economy? Or is Toyota willing to take a hit on the profit margin due to the increased cost of materials and doing business (due to exchange rates) of the Prius here in the US market to prevent the likely drop in sales due to an increase in price.

I have yet to see any announcement that across-the-board price hikes are planned for the US market and I would be surprised to learn that they do in fact plan to do so until that announcement is made.

As noted above, new competition into the US hybrid market is being introduced by other brands which will inevitably decrease any amount of "premium" paid for hybrids. This is similar to the Camry/Prius discussion above. Toyota may think it necessary, however, it may be problematic because those on the margin may easily be convinced to look to alternative hybrids in the market.

 

This seems contrary to current incentive programs. Why not pull the current incentives and increase the margin on all remaining inventory? A price increase on 2012's would automatically make the lower priced 2011's more attractive.