Last month I told you about the sales slide the Prius saw in March, and today the April numbers were released and actually look WORSE. Toyota sold 8,385 Prius units in April, down from 8,924 units last month. Last April was when sales really started to kick into gear (before gas really even started going up), but this April sales were off a staggering 61% compared to April 2008. 2009 Prius sales are down almost 50% compared to 2008.
There are several questions surrounding these numbers:
- What is the cause of the sales decline? Cheap gas, bad economy, new generation model?
- Will May be a better month with heavy discounts on 2009 models and eager early adopters of the 2010?
- A year ago we were talking about the Prius taking the #2 best-seller spot from the Corolla. Is that still a viable expectation for the future?
I think the answer to question 1 is that it has more to do with cheap gas and a bad economy than a new generation coming out at the end of May. A majority of future Prius owners don't even know that the 3rd Generation Prius is coming out this summer.
I'll let you answer questions 2 and 3!
