Prius C No More?

Sales tend to be low when inventory is sparse.

In my area, '18 Liftbacks are almost cleared out, '19 are not showing in online inventory by a local dealer just left a message Wednesday evening the his first have arrived.

'18 c's are sold out, '19s have just started trickling in.

'18 Primes are sold out, '19s have not yet begun arriving.

 

I'm certain they would ship in more if they were selling faster.

There are plenty of $18-20k cars giving 40+ MPG and not saddled with the Prius name or battery life bogeyman.

We got a c because we wanted a nice subcompact. If we'd been shopping for a larger car,* the liftback would never have been in the running.

*I am in the early stages of finding a replacement for our other, larger car. And despite learning a lot of good things about the Prius it's still not on the menu.

 

And that’s exactly how it works Leadfoot. Toyota’s allocation system distributes them based upon what you sold.

 

Well...this may sound strange coming from someone currently owning a Honda Fit, given that the Prius c and Honda Fit as far as size and sub-compact configuration are so similar, they could of been cloned from the same beaker, but I like the Toyota Corolla Hybrid.

While I personally like sub-compacts and hatches...my opinion is in the USA, they are a hard sell. We don't have the narrow streets of some European and Asian cities. We still have the sprawling coast to coast Highway system. Our populace values space and size, I think as evident by the love and popularity of SUV's. Often the psychological criteria US buyers apply to vehicle purchase is how comfortable the vehicle might be on a long summer road trip, or whether the vehicle can reach isolated mountain peaks. Even if we aren't going to go on a long summer road trip and/or drive to isolated mountain tops. What I see most often is people driving in vehicle far larger than they really need for the majority of their use, and/or ridiculous over built and equipped for the majority of their needs.

The Prius c was alway marketed as the entry level Hybrid for young urban/city dwellers. Even though I think it "accidentally" appealed to a older market Toyota wasn't really trying to reach.

But in the end? With a IMO sportier look, maybe sportier performance, and a touch more size, I think the Corolla Hybrid could be a great product.
My concern however is price.
I like the idea of a "new" Hybrid being available for younger buyers, or simply a less affluent audience, that perhaps more people could afford either brand new or used.
While the Prius c, never was IMO particularly "Cheap"...price wise...it anchored an affordability entry to Hybrids and Prius that was less than the cost of a standard Prius and/or obviously Prius Prime.
Keeping it "in" the family kind of forced Toyota to keep it's cost below that of the Standard Prius.
I'll be interested to see the cost of the Toyota Corolla Hybrid. My fear is that while it might be a sidestep replacement for the exiting Prius c, it's cost will be significantly more. Which I think is too bad.
I would like to reach as many people as possible with Hybrid technology and availability. Right now? If you are on a budget or simply not particularly affluent...your choices in Prius ownership are really limited to used Prius of various ages. I'd like Toyota to maintain a cheaper, decidedly entry level option.
I'm speculating the purchase price of the Corolla Hybrid, is going to be equal or exceed the cost of a standard Prius.

 

Take the base Corolla and add 7k. That's about the Hybrid tax rate.

So, I'd bet right around 25k.

 

Only about 700 PriusC available.....stock is low.

 

Toyota Prius c to be discontinued; 2020 Corolla Hybrid will take its place - Autoblog

 

Well it was nice to know the C. But, I do enjoy my GEN3 more.

 

No real need to replace for me but love the new Rav4 Hybrid with 41+mpg and AWD plus 1750lbs towing. I tow with the C and still get 44+ mpg. I need a Prolong for the battery to be like new again. Only 100k miles and the service life for the car should go past 400k miles. I'm thinking with how I car for my car that maybe even 500lk miles should be possible on the original engine,trans, HV battery. The fluids count and how I keep the HV Bat cool!

 

Any improvement will be temporary.
The ONLY way to get your battery "like new again" is to replace it with a new one.

 

I'm a little sad and also a little relieved by the news. I've been a fan of Mr T for a long time and 9 out of our current 10 cars all wear the Toyota badge and #10 says Lexus. Their current trend of buying rather than building sports cars has left me more than a little miffed at what they think is okay to do, and in that perspective I'm glad to see the C end where it is. It would have been worse if they would have ruined the 2nd generation of the car in some terrible way. Then you'll really find yourself explaining to people what you drive to avoid embarrassment!

I'll also agree keeping the Aqua name, or even a Yaris-H or something badge might have led to better sales. Being a "car guy" for years it was quite awkward explaining to people that "I bought a Prius". It wasn't until after I started making changes that people started to except it lol.

As for the Prius line up dying, so is everything car related. Ford has announced the death of all cars except the Mustang, GM is axing a bunch of models, and the automotive press keeps telling me that people only want SUVs and trucks. That's not really what I see on the road, but it must be true right? Toyota is following the trend again. Tundra is due for a major revamp and a hybrid option is rumored to be part of that. The Sequoia shares platforms so its probably a year or two behind that. I'm just waiting to see how well Mazda and Honda do in a few months when gas prices surge and they are the only companies with a variety of cars to offer to people trading in their SUVs.

 

But can you really call THAT a Mustang?

 

I can call that a lot of things! Like I said ending the C on a high note rather than taking the Mitsubishi Eclipse route and trying to turn it into a cross over isn't all that bad!

 

There's been a lot of talk about the sedan/compact/subcompact market dying out, and trends do seem to be going that way. But I think as we transition over the next 5-25 years to a primarily electric car society, the sedan at least will still be around. Until battery technology and charging speed improve, you won't see too many large electric SUVs. Range anxiety will hold back a lot of electric car purchases if people don't see 300 - 400 mile plus ranges and/or a charging station on every corner. It will be fun to watch how this all plays out as many brands are rushing headlong into electric without much of an infrastructure to support refueling, at least at the moment. VW has already announced it will cease non electric production after 2026. Interesting times ahead. I think I'll hang on to my C for a while, or possibly buy another hybrid.

 

Things go in cycles.....good and bad.

I think that they will turn bad again within maybe 5 years, during which time the price of gas in the US might double.....up to $5 a gallon or more.......and there won't be any small really fuel efficient vehicles left in the new vehicle market when we really need them.

IF.....the major car makers are right and nobody cares about fuel efficiency right now......what makes you think that much of anybody will be really enthusiastic about electric either ??

I smell another HUGE mistake about to happen. I just don't know what the trigger will be.

 

I rather thought that Toyota was kinda-sorta ending the Prius line for hybrids because they're offering hybrids across their entire line. I mean, the new Corolla (which is also available as a hatchback and a stationwagon) would have the same hybrid system as the Prius. The "Prius" name used to mean "hybrid", but if there are hybrids around anyway, why bother having a separate line? Better to fold it into a "mass-market" line, which can be embraced by a wider market segment, while using the Prius name to push further innovations (as they're doing with the Plug-In Hybrid).

 

I rather think that you are precisely correct with your thoughts.

And I think it makes more sense that what other makers are doing with completely eliminating whole market segments.

I for one will NOT be taking any of my business to a brand name that tries to "force" me into a high markup SUV or Pickup truck when what I really want is a CAR.

 

exactly. If "they" can offer 9-12K or more off price of a truck/suv and still make tons of money think how high that mark up is.

 

I know people keep saying things like all electric in the next few years, but I just don't see it happening quickly. We just did two road trips through the western half of the country. While I see a ton of Tesla's, Leafs, (Leaves?), and similar in the Bay Area they very quickly disappeared as we moved toward the center of the country. I also find it intriguing that the area I see the most electric cars can't handle a warm day without risking rolling power outages. Not only are there not enough charging stations, I don't believe there's enough power to power them when they do exist. When I decided to buy the C I decided that if I was going to be open minded enough to buy a hybrid that I should look at all my options. When I looked into the electrics, most of them would be iffy to handle my 200 mile round trip commute, but the real draw back was the charge time I like most people here am a renter, that means I have 120v power in the garage. I'm not home long enough over night to recharge a Chevy bolt back to the point that I could drive it to work the next day! Sure you can add a charger, but that's a decent investment into someone else's property.

Anyway to steer this back on topic. For the US, Toyota has only announced a Hybrid Corolla Sedan. The Hybrid hatch exists in other markets, but they haven't said yes to here yet. At least that I have heard.

My question will the Corolla Hybrid be a Japan built car or US built like the rest of the Corolla line up? I won't lie I trust the Japan build quality so much more than the US built cars. Not necessarily the assembly, but the supply of parts being used.