Help me select a prius...

Make sure the car is delivered with two working fobs and a charging cable.

 

I did not know that Toyota was having trouble selling Prius Prime. I thought that it was selling well.

 

selling well in cali, poorly in the northeast. if it wasn't from people flying in and buying them here, from states where they aren't being sold, they'd be rotting on the lots.
i just got an email today from toyota dealers of new england stating that toyota has ordered them to move 250 million dollars in inventory to make room for 2018's, and prime was on the list.

 

Is the the case of Toyota not allocating the vehicles to the right markets, or is it the case of overproduction? Or is it the case that the dealers don't know how to sell these? The Indiana dealers all tell me that Toyota is not allowing them to carry the vehicles in their lots (something I don't completely believe), which sounds counter-intuitive, especially those Indiana dealers that have one or two on their lots are price-gouging. To me, the whole marketing/distribution process is whacked.

 

it's all based on california carb rules, are you familiar? toyota (and other manufacturers of plug ins)
do not always treat them like gasoline cars when it comes to sales and marketing.

 

It's not all based on that. Toyota US advertised nationwide availability. They initially concentrated on the western CARB states but have expanded. Whenever they renew their contract for the Southeast region, they need to specify they sell the complete product line. My understanding is they do not want to sell Prime.

I know there are quite a few Prii in my area but very few Gen 4 ones on the road. I have seen no Primes.

 

it's all based on carb. as supply has increased, a few have trickled into non carb states, but carb gets the required allotment first. and the dealers who do have them in non carb states have to want them, no push from toyota, as they don't care one way or the other.

as for southeast toyota, i have no idea if there is an 'end date' to their agreement with toyota.
when japanese mpg's were making garbage cars, and trying to open markets here, they made some pretty sweet deals with american dealers to get a foot in the door.

 

Here is a description of Southeast Toyota. They are the only US distributor not directly owned by toyota.

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is the world's largest independent distributor of Toyotas. SET is based in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The company's vehicle processing facilities distribute cars, trucks and vans, parts and accessories to more than 175 independent Toyota dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North and South Carolina. SET dealers sell approximately 20 percent of all Toyotas sold in the United States.

From
Southeast Toyota :: Home

 

Everything I read here as well as what I hard from the dealers in Indiana, Illinois, and New York makes no sense to me. I see that Toyota wants to meet the expanded ZEV Mandate by selling more cars in California and other participating states. But why is there a glut (if that's even true) of vehicles in northeastern states? I would think that dealerships will not just "accept" more cars if they are not selling well?? (or does Toyota "force feed" difficult to sell vehicles to dealerships?) I can see why Toyota is running incentives in ZEV Mandate states, to meet the mandate, though. And I know that people I spoke on the phone from both Indiana and Illinois have told me that they are "not allowed by Toyota" to have any Prius Primes on the lot, other than those they directly buy from other dealerships, or a customer decides to back out of special order. My take on this is that, someone (most likely many people) are lying about this. If Toyota wants to sell more Prius Primes, I would think the strategy to place NO vehicles in Chicago area, for example, is a terrible strategy.

 

The sales manager and dealership owner told me directly (twice) that in the case of Gulf States Toyota, they will not allocate Prius Primes. They're allowed to sell them, but by S.O.V.R. (special order vehicle request) only, and it must first be approved by Gulf States Toyota before the customer can order it. They must prove customer exists and that there is a deposit. Apparently some dealers were making up fake customers to get cars on the lots. Doesn't that indicate demand exists?

Very strange and I've never seen anything like this in many years of buying cars.

 

this is incorrect, toyota doesn't own any dealerships. they simply have a different arrangement with southeast.

 

force feed is applicable. and toyota gets cali credits for cars sold in other states. if they only sell in cali, they get hammered for making a 'compliance car', which is a bit of a black eye. admittedly, we are not privy to what goes on in corporate boardrooms, and what makes sense to them, may not, to you and me.
and yes, we don't know how many primes toyota wants to sell. the mount may change over time, but with their current strategy, they have been selling as many as they can make.

 

I was incorrect. Toyota describes it as 10 regional offices and 2 private distributors. I thought there was only one.

Toyota USA | Operations | Design, Engineering & Marketing

 

i wonder if o/p has made a decision...

 

you have to use up the gas every 6 months, so it's good to run the engine once in awhile.

 

The Camaro is likely more fuel efficient than those people that take a plane to get a Prius (or Prime).

 

I've never calculated it, but it HAS to be more fun.

 

Interesting posts in this thread. Wished I had found it earlier. Worked @ a GM/Toyota dealership for years, with the last decade of it as "Inventory Manger". I was the guy doing all the dealer trades, "Preferencing" vehicles for Toyota allocation process (Didn't order them, could only preference - ie, if we earn a Prius/Camry LE/Rav 4 whatever, this is the color/accessories we'd prefer. If we got it we got it, if we didn't we still took it. (If you "decline" a vehicle, good luck with anything on an allocation for months, and as well a visit from your Regional Rep to you and the dealerships owner).

But overall, the system worked pretty well. As for special orders, I read where Toyota wanted proof. That was true then as well. Signed buyers orders w/deposit before acceptance of the order by the Regional Rep. As for trading out of Region, it couldn't be done. You "could" however list it on the "I have/I want" list - which is a list of vehicles offered up for trade in the allocation process before they are built/delivered. If your "have" matched another dealers "want" in the system, then the computer system would automatically swap it to your list of vehicles on allocation.

GM on the other hand would build you anything you wanted, and begged you to take another.

My run with Toyota is quickly coming to an end however. As I'm selling my Prius and will be purchasing a Honda. Enjoyed my years with them for sure, but when your no longer working at the dealership, and your son is a Master Honda tech, you buy a Honda.