Featured Plug-in Hybrid outsells the RAV4 Prime

I would agree that their marketing was to limit plug-in sales, but this is not a strategy to maximize profit. It seems like a strategy to not sell plug-ins because the rav4 prime is a highly profitable vehicle for Toyota. It will stay profitable if they increase battery production and move manufacturing to North America.

Toyota has record profits because they handled supply chain issues better than most other old line auto manufacturers. That lack of competitors supply increased profit even as sales unit volume declined.

 

Even look at the time Toyota took to expand hybrid choices here. Posts back when I had the 2005 Prius were asking for a minivan of Rav4. Albeit they were smaller than the Sienna, but Japan had hybrid minivans back then.

 

Stellantis is a Netherlands corporation - not AmericanTowanda "American is hardly descriptive because it includes Canada - middle, and south America .... and as for middle of the road breakdowns - plenty a Toyota has done that. we were on our way to work carpooling one morning and the triangle of death came on. bam bam, our Prius stopped and had to be towed home. modernly when you look at a car's sticker it will tell you percentages made in Mexico, Canada or whereve. So maybe do some homework to find out if any car is exclusively made within one country's borders.
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"told" being the operative word. let's not forget Lexus/Toyota hybridized the SUV back in what, 2009? pretty sure they were blowing smoke up the nether region.

 

The Escape came out around 2005, and the Highlander a year or two later.

 

Doesn't explain why it took to 2015 to even get that 'poor' Rav4 hybrid. It was 32mpg combined. The 2005 Escape hybrid was 27mpg, and the 2009 one was 29mpg. That's the 4wd Escapes, which used a less efficient mechanical system. The FWD version of the 2009 had the same ratings as the 2015 Rav4.

 

I was mis-remembering this article on the GR Corolla. Toyota is intentionally limiting production to drive demand, and has stated as much.

 

The article mentions Porsche, but less high end brands will do the same with special editions of a model.
What Toyota is doing with the GR isn't indicative of how they are operating for all models.

 

Yesterday I got an email from Toyota with links to a website. I followed the link for the RAV, which boasted 12 variations on the Rav4.

The prime was not even listed.

The least that they can do is to list the prime models with an explanation that due to supply problems they are not taking orders at this time.
That would make the rav4 prime appear to be legit. As it stands, it looks like the Rav4 Prime is orphaned.

Dan

 

It's listed on Toyota.com.

 

TBH, isn't the whole core of the issue, you can't really buy RAV4 Prime/PHV as they are not is stock and reserved for a long time. Like, if you buy one now, you might get your order next year or so.

 

I don't see any significance to the stats. 10,000 of x vs 19,000 of y doesn't really mean much in a marketplace that moves about 10,000 new cars per day.

 

The marketplace numbers are non-plug in cars with established and mature supply chains. There are disruptions now, but that is all they are; disruptions. For plug ins, the supply chains are just starting to be built. The numbers reflect how well the company is doing in that area.

 

Because volume doesn't matter. Profits do. Check out Toyota's earnings statements. Even though their earnings have fallen a little the last few months, they're still higher than ever in Toyota's history.

Toyota EPS - Earnings per Share 2010-2022 | TM | MacroTrends

 

maybe they've figured out how to make money without making cars

 

While you appear to be joking, there are many companies who, in a time of booming stock markets, make more money from their stock investments than they do by making and selling products. Many companies were caught with cash flow problems during the "Dot-com boom" when the market took a dive while their working capital was tied up in short term investments. I sort of recall AMD as being one of those companies.

On the subject of PHEVs, I drove 4 miles yesterday while doing errands, and spotted 5 Prius Primes on the road. Two Mirai were also spotted. Somebody has been selling these things.

 

Lol, you live in a region where more billionaires live than anywhere else in the world, so the kind of cars you see have a lot to do with all the money floating around. You won't see that many primes and mirai anywhere else that often. Most people actually have to work for a living!

What's more SF Bay Area is where people get tens of millions in VC funding for their tech startup that produces absolutely nothing because for every hundred startups these investors gives tens of millions to, if just a few of those hundred are successful they make all their money back in unicorn stock.

And quite frankly, I grew up in this region and watched all the community and culture destroyed by the arrogance of startup CEOs who sold nothing and succeeded at nothing and yet thought they were worth millions just because and investor loaned it to them. In the long run it's a total failure of an economic strategy no matter how hard they try to convince the world that they're a new and improved economy.

Most atrocious is how the city of San Francisco would still be a beautiful fun city to live in had it's economy not been entirely destroyed by these elitist startup losers who will be broke sooner than they think! I mean look at the bloodbath of all the crypto startups right now?