Fast-growing hybrids

DANA POINT, California – Hybrid cars are not just for early adopters anymore. Toyota says 26 percent of American consumers say they are very interested in purchasing a hybrid.

More than 100,000 potential customers have requested more information for Toyota’s Prius, and more than 150,000 have done so for the Highlander hybrid, coming out in June, Mary Nickerson, Toyota’s national marketing manager for advanced technology vehicles, reported Tuesday at the Forrester Research automotive summit.

“The United States is the only country where we have found that hybrids have moved into the mainstream,†she said.

According to a JD Power study, Toyota holds more than 60 percent of the U.S. hybrid market and is expected to have a 40 percent share, still the largest, in 2011. Honda currently has 31 percent of the hybrid market. Toyota made $6.25 billion in profits, and $129 billion in sales, in its 2003 fiscal year. The company sold 6.1 million vehicles that year.

The number of hybrid models has increased from three in 2003, to six in 2004. Ten models are expected in 2005, and 15 in 2006, she said. Sales have also increased dramatically, with JD Power expecting 535,000 to be sold in 2010, roughly 3 percent of the U.S. market. “The market is opening much faster than anyone expected,†Ms. Nickerson said.

Toyota is expanding its production of the Prius, which will remain Toyota’s image leader, said Ms. Nickerson. But the company is also going to begin introducing hybrid technology in other models, like the Highlander, that were originally built as gas cars, she said. Another model coming out this year is the Lexus Rx400h, which will be a challenge because the Lexus customer group is not made up of as many early innovation types, she said. “Selling this will be a different strategy,†she said. Still, she said the company already has 12,000 orders for the vehicle.

Until the Prius, Toyota was never considered to be a leader in technology, she said. “This car has given us that leadership, and that is something we’re hoping to continue through the rest of our vehicles,†she said. Toyota has a sector devoted to anticipating future trends, and hopes to use it to keep its innovation edge, said Ms. Nickerson.

Some of the new technologies aren’t perfect, including the voice-command technology, which doesn’t always recognize voice inflections like her southern accent, she said. But Ms. Nickerson said the smart key system, which opens the nearest door when you approach with the transponder, worked even better than expected. So far, there have been no accounts of interference from other Prius transponders, despite having multiple Prius cars in the same garages.

Innovation comes with the challenge of education, she said. Some customers weren’t ready for the “shift by wire†feature, which comes as a standard on the Prius. It allows drivers to switch from park to drive and back, she said.

“Some customers leave their car on and walk away, or call and say, `Where’s the park?’ when there’s a big P on the button they need to push,†she said. “We had about four times the normal stickers, instructions, and valet instructions. It does take some time to help adapt the market for a new kind of car.â€

She said Toyota isn’t actively considering adding parallel parking features. “I think if we did more parallel parking in this country, it might be a technology that would have more of a future here."

Down the road, the company is considering creating a blog. “We’ve been trying to decide whether we’re ready,†she said. “It’s a very difficult decision, but our user groups are pushing us in that direction.â€

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