Featured 5th Gen Prius

Quotes:

"Some 24 years later and in its fourth generation, it remains one of the best-selling hybrids worldwide"

Is this true; I though sales have dropped dramatically?

"The Prius has been on sale in its current form since 2016 and, based on the six-year lifecycles of the previous iterations, is up for renewal in 2022."

Geez Louise, don't they teach arithmetic anymore: model year 2022 is at the dealerships, and that's the seventh year for fourth gen.

 

The statement "one of the best-selling hybrids worldwide" might be correct, depending on what restrictions you mentally apply. For instance, is that "best selling since 2000 through 2021"? Is it best selling in the current model year? Is it only US sales or world wide? Is it only competing with sedans, or are SUVs involved too?

With the proper qualifiers, the Prius is still one of the best-selling.

 

Sales are dropping, but the Prius has a big head start in terms of sales since introduction. Then Prius could mean Prius family in the statement.

 

Clearly Toyota's Hybrid drivetrain is the best selling world-wide. So I could see how a journalist could get that confused. I mean aren't all Toyota hybrid drivetrains, essentially Prius drivetrains with some minor variations?

 

Sales of all models of all vehicles decline through their life-cycles - sometime because people are waiting for the new model to arrive - others see the OLD one and because others have caught up and passed them - they buy something else.

PRIUS 4 is still selling quite well, in it's old age.

 

Of course right now the car market is nothing like it's been before... 100K mile Gen2 Prius are selling for $10K in the western US again! A year ago these cars were selling for $4K.

My friend who bought a used electric fiat a year ago just told me that same car is now selling $5K higher than what he paid.

Meanwhile, the auto industry is blaming a chip shortage when the truth is their avoidance of electric cars has created a long-time growing un-met demand and because they didn't prepare for it soon enough they're many years away from creating enough supply.

Currently access to electric cars is a matter of wealth and privilege. For example a recent email I got:
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Dear Colleagues,
Excuse the self-promotion. I have a new article and the title and abstract are below; there is also an open-access link for a limited time:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1eAh87tZ6Ztdhz

Maybe I'm naive, but what shocked me most from this study is that the rich don’t seem to just have some of the things we tend to deem valuable, but just about everything. - Jean

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Title - Inflated lives and a clean tech privilege in Washington State: Policy amidst spatialized affluence

Abstract
In this study, we analyze policy and the socio-spatial distribution of clean technology privilege—electric vehicles (EVs)—in Washington State. We examine EV penetration in relation to zip code variables like social demographics and population density. Data was acquired from the US Census and Washington State’s vehicle registry (N = 576). After regression and geographic analyses, we find that median income, an Inflated Life Proxy (ILP), and education have the highest associations with EV concentrations. The ILP was constructed by dividing zip code median home values by median incomes. We also find associations between EV penetration and the distribution of broadband internet. As the highest EV adoption shares are found in areas of the highly educated and affluent—a clean tech privilege—we argue that, despite years of state and federal incentives, EV diffusion in Washington State has not progressed beyond early adoption. As the association between greater household income and greenhouse gas emissions is well established, we urge decision makers toward more progressive economic policies—consumption, wealth, and income taxes—in order to direct civil society towards greater economic moderation and equality, generally. If only consumers with a clean tech privilege are adopting EVs, then current emission reduction strategies may be annulled by the otherwise high carbon lifestyles of the affluent.

 

I hope that Gen 5 will have slightly higher ground clearance! That was the thing that pushed us to just purchase a Rav4 hybrid.

 

I hope you aren't claiming there's no chip shortage, but it sure looks like you are, and you'd be dead wrong.

 

I seem to be seeing more Teslas on the road than Prii.

 

That very much depends on where you are. I see a lot of every BEV and HV, but that's largely because we are a bedroom community that commutes to everywhere. There are a LOT of H1B visa workers, and most of them are leasing a BEV. By the time you add all the incentives, the car's 2 year lease is paid for and, if you play it right you can get free charging at public chargers. It's funny to drive around town at 6 PM and see every charger occupied by a person who's getting ready for tomorrow's commute.

In California, Tesla is claiming that they have 10% of the market this year. Of course, that is a bit skewed by the chip shortage that is slowing a lot of car sales.