Toyota/Lexus hybrid unit sales history (USA)

*Cross Posted elsewhere

I would have predicted a jump in sales in Jan/Feb due to the tax
credit as well as a drop in sales in Dec....but the numbers you post
don't reflect that. In fact Prius sales are slower (due to supply
issues?/limited releases to avoid hitting the magic 60k unit sales
mark before the 3rd quarter?) in Jan./Feb. than they were in Dec.

But there are HiHy's and 400h's sitting on dealer lots available and
the credit and even the low interest financing are apparently not
having much impact on those sales...I admit I'm a bit suprised by that.
--evan

 

That could be true...or it could be a cover story to limit Prius sales with the hope that some who were looking at a Prius will, instead, go for the Camry. Still, the potential benefit for Toyota if they can make the Tax credit extend through all of 2006 is pretty high, esp. if they can "find" a bunch more cars to release in that 3rd and 4th quarter for the hungry mob that's been waiting and waiting for their order to arrive.

 

"negligible"...hardly Wife got over 30mpg on a highway & interstate trip yesterday in our HiHy....oh, and I was happy to pay the premium for fuel savings, environmental savings, technology support, better acceleration (7.2 sec. 0-60), 53 more Horse Power, some very nice luxury features not included, quieter ride, CVT, extra safety features, electronic power steering and Toyota reliability. There's much more to the 'premium' than just dropping in an electric motor.

MPG of our AWD limited City = 31, non-Hybrid = 18, almost 60% improvement...you call that negligible? I'll tell you, also, that real world hwy. mpg is better than the EPA numbers in the hybrid...but I can't prove that...even by the EPA numbers it's almost 10% better.

If you want to talk about "negligible" mpg increase at a premium and "missing the mark" let's start a discussion about the Silverado "Hybrid" (sorry, I choke just thinking about using that word in conjunction with Siverado).

Your turn.

 

50,000 HiHy's and 400h's sold in 10 months is a "bomb"?

I guess we'll see who's right ultimately, but I think you're wrong. How much more will a GM customer pay for an SUV that has 53 HP more, leather interior, etc. that gets less gas mileage??

Yes, when it comes to the pocket book those who want to save money will not consider either of these SUVs. But when you're talking about vehicles in the 30-50k range money is not the buyer's first consideration....any good car salesman could tell you that.

 

You didn't add in the Jan/Feb '06 figures...those are just the April-Dec. totals you're posting.

 

Well then, it's not Toyota's fault is it now? Neither is it Honda's or Ford's problem.

 

I put together this relatively comparable comparison at Edmunds for a Ford Explorer...hard to find a perfect match out there to compare the hybrid and non-hybrid Highlanders, but the Explorer is fairly close.

Explorer Limited adds 92 HP, leather and a few other luxury features fairly comprable to the added features on the Hybrid Highlander limited over the non-hybrid Highlander limited. It's MSRP is ~$36,000

Explorer XLT is relatively comprable to the non-hybrid Highlander. It's MSRP is $30,500.

Both get 14MPG City (less than half the HiHy) and 20MPG Hwy (50% less than HiHy).

MSRP for the Explorer Limited is only about $3000 less than for the HiHy limited. Explorer Limited has a little more HP (292 vs 268), but I'm willing to bet that the HiHy will dramatically out accelerate and will equal towing capacity (not listed on Edmunds).

Once again, I'll pay the premium for the 'feel good' benefit. Some folks (maybe a lot of folks) won't right now, but Toyota's "bomb" will lead the way to show that this technology can make cars better... all cars, much as the Prius has very successfully done.

Here's A Link to the Comparison at Edmunds--hope that link works.

 

Ok folks, maybe I'm dense, but....

400h
April-Dec '05 = 20,661
Jan-Feb '06 = 3,280
Total 400h sales for 10 months: 23,941

HiHy
June-Dec '05 = 17,989
Jan-Feb '06 = 4,894
Total HiHy sales for 8 months: 22,883

Grand total: 46,824

So, I rounded up a bit, but that also only includes only partial months in April for 400h and June for the HiHy.

Projecting out for a full year at Feb. sales rates brings the HiHy first full year sales to about 28,000 units (filling in first half of April '06) and around 33,000 units for the HiHy for the first year of sales.

I just don't think that's bad at all.

 

They are not below unit goals at all...what numbers are you using? They are ahead of annual sales predicitions on both vehicles.

And you're dead wrong, if these two SUVs were being produced by GM I'd be thrilled and chearing them on and considering buying them. The problem is that GM is NOT making the innovations and thus not even giving me an opportunity to support their efforts.