Featured Toyota Prius sales have tanked, 4 reasons why

my brother has a merc 500sl, has two seats and gets around 10mpg. my father pays for his gas though.

 

Toyota needs to put the cool back in the Prius, as mentioned above.

They also need to mainstream some features, like the infotainment system, and possibly pick up some social influencers.

It seems Toyotas are considered old people's cars by some. No wow in the brand for them. There was an attempt to capture a younger demographic with Scion, but it didn't pan out, for a number of reasons:

Five Reasons: Why Did Scion Fail?

"Scion claims that over its nearly 13 years and more than a million vehicle sales, 50 percent of its buyers have been under the age of 35; but they’ve been skewing a lot older at times in more recent years."

There were technical issues, too.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/02/the-5-reasons-scion-is-dead.html

Anyway, despite all the cool (to me) features added, both standard and optional, between my Gen 2 and my Gen 4, I think it's neat.

But, they have some very smart, talented people that need to push the envelope. Wouldn't you like to be part of focus groups at the mothership in Plano and let the powers that be know what you think they can do to make Prius the coolest car again?

I know I would.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

i think they need input from non owners.

 

The 2018 Camry Hybrid models SE and XLE are rated at 44/47/46. The LE model is rated at 51/53/52.

 

How many times are they going to dust off this story and reprint it with minor updates? What does the word, "tanked," even mean? How do Prius sales compare to the model size in the overall market. I call horse pucky.

I gas up in Ehrenberg, AZ every week. This week, gas was $2.45. Six miles away in Blythe, CA gas is $3.69 for the same brand. Similar prices all the way to LA. It's not fun to be one of Jerry's kids.

 

I liked my first Prius. I have a saying that if a car treats you right buy another one. I took my own advice.

We talked about buying a Subaru but didn't even go look at one. We really don't spend much on gas each month.

In the summer we buy more gas for my wife's zero turn mowere than for the Prius.

 

To get a little philosophical, I see the demise of the Liftback Prius as the aging of an old wise person.

If it has done its job well, it lives on in others and the generations ahead build on the wisdom of the sage(s). In its nascent age, this intrepid Prius was in a class of its own; but hybrid technology and efficiencies spread throughout the Toyota lineup and to others. Then pushing the envelope required further evolution. It may not have been Toyota who carried the torch forward in full force, but the spirit continued on in the Plug-ins and BEVs we see today.

Death to the Prius. Long live the Prius.

How's that?

 

I bought my Prius because I wanted a Toyota with a hatch/liftback. If there had been a gas car in my price range, I would have bought it. I really don't drive enough to realize significant hybrid benefits.

 

I'd vote for you on that platform.

You drive a Prius, you get a benefit!

 

They reviewed an XLE hybrid. The LE hybrid actually has the higher rating.

 

Toyota is a victim of their own success. Lots of people are in my situation and only replace their cars when the old one wears out, not because the new one is pretty. My daily drivers are a 2010 Prius and a 2004 Prius, both bought new. Both are going strong with no issues. Why would I replace them?

 

Not really. Given my low annual mileage, the amount of money a Prius saves me in gas is not even offset by how much lower the cost of insurance would be on the same model year Corolla. But the Corolla didn't exist with a hatch at that time.

 

That's amazing, thx for the info. I didn't realize you could get a Camry with an EPA estimate of what I'm currently getting with my Prius. As a big fan of the Camry, I guess I'll be looking for a used LE in a few years. And yeah, this will hurt Prius sales.

 

Sales growth of Camry hybrid and Prius Prime is a win-win.

Toyota wants to phase out traditional vehicles.

 

I did zero shopping and now I realize I was out of touch with what was going on in the hybrid market when I bought my new car in November. I would have bought the Prime but my wife said no. She felt familiar with another Prius and like a lot of people change bothers them.

It's funny how some people are, they go to the same dealer, and the same salesman, buy the same car they are trading in and buy the same color. How boring is that. lol

People see their new car and think it's the old one.

 

About 4 months ago I started to think I needed to look for a new vehicle to replace mine that had suddenly and repeatedly become undependable. I like my Toyota dealer's service. Not his new car pricing. (SET distributor and I've bought out of state before.) So I went to the competing brand dealer across the street and looked at his car and asked some questions whose answers were valuable to me. Did they provide a courtesy car or a ride to my development that is 2 miles away and on the same street at 55MPH? No. How are maps updated? Cost? And then I looked on a web forum devoted to the model I might have been interested in and was aghast at the number and seriousness of the complaints about the specific engine I would have bought (1.5L, DFI, Turbo).

And then my Toyota dealer fixed my uncommon (according to searches on this forum) problem in a 5+ year old car and at zero cost to me because of a lifetime power train warranty. And my 42k miles car suddenly became dependable.

So there are reasons why I have loyalty. Not blind, I would hope. But rooted in experiences that I value. And when I get my $35 oil change and tire rotation and tire pressure adjustment, I drop the car off the day before my appointment and get a ride back to my house. And pick it up the next day and life is good.

Now I'm waiting for the new RAV4h to see what it is like. I like low emissions, I like 40+ mpg not for cost so much but for the infrequent fill-ups when I'm shuttling around town. I go sometimes a month without stopping at a gas station except to buy a lottery ticket. When it comes in I'll see what it is like and if it meets my then current perception of my wants and needs. And what the early buyer's experiences have been. And I'll compare their prices and beat them down and remind them I can get it for cheaper and have done that and they will have to make their price acceptable to me or I'll go out of state. And if I do, they will service it just as they do for my wife's car bought out of state because they wouldn't be price competitive.

The folks I see in the dealership service area trend older (not older than me but still older). But then I don't go in before or after work hours, I'm retired and can pick a convenient to me time to visit.

 

With the long established hybrid design and reliability, I'll stick with Toyota for now, be it the Prius or any other offering...

 

Agreed on most points already discussed, but I have two to add:

1) there is still the "Prius stigma." Corolla drivers aren't getting purposefully cut off, coal rolled, etc.

2) stiff competition from Hyundai

 

Has anyone seen any Ioniq's out there? I have not. However, I have seen quite a few Gen4 Prius around here.