Geez, Jonnycat26! Talking about misleading people.

That is an Australian newspaper talking about the Australian market.

SUV sales are quite different outside of the United States. So it should be no surprise that the hybrid version is different too.

Gee, John, talk about not reading the article. They're talking about the Japanese market!

And, actually, since you can read on edmunds about Highlander Hybrids selling under MSRP, it's a fairly safe assumption that they're not selling all *that* well here either.

What the heck does it say that?

Of course, my point still holds true. The article was *NOT* about the US market.

In the article.

Would you not agree tho, that the fact that Highlander hybrids are selling below MSRP indicates that the demand isn't as high as the Prius demand was?

The writer of the newspaper story went to Japan to write it, so presumably it was discussing the Japanese market even though that was not stated explicitly.

As for whether people will pay a premium for hybrids: sure, they'll pay a premium for something that they value. For example, for decades people have paid a premium for pure convenience in the form of automatic transmissions. It is likely that large numbers of people will pay a premium for some combination of significantly increased fuel economy and performance offered by hybrids. (Heck, design in a control and let the driver choose their combination of economy and peformance.)

Not providing the exact quote is what caused a problem last time. So I used this opportunity to point out an inevitable repeat of the same situation. And sure enough, it happened again.

Even with the most sincere of intentions, being vague can mislead.

Even when I did provide you with the exact quote last time, which I sure did, you just skirted it. Which is fun in a way. : :mrgreen:

i have to concur with John's conclusions. its an australian publication so it implies that the area discussed would be local to the people most likely to read it unless stated otherwise...

and as for hybrid SUV's not selling... dont see any evidence of that here in anyway what so ever.

Well, let's establish a context...

How were the non-hybrid Highlanders selling before the Employee-Discount blitz began? I highly suspect that once the discounts began, dealers had no choice but to offer some kind of incentive for the hybrid if the non-hybrid took a hit too.

What kind of discounts are usually given now anyway, at the end of the model year for all vehicles? Inventory clearance is normal. For that matter, so is hesitence toward purchasing a first model-year of a new vehicle too.

How come the upcoming 4-cylinder Camry-Hybrid wasn't mentioned? I found that rather odd, especially in the context of a "too expensive" article... since it will obviously be more efficient than a 6-cylinder version.

Well, in the article it states that the author travelled to japan and was discussing sales with a japanese executive who talked about domestic sales. Domestic sales, discussed in japan, by a toyota executive, who works in japan, very likely means japanese sales. So I have to agree with Richard and myself here....

Also, a quick check of www.toyota.com.au (Toyota Australia) shows they don't sell the Highlander Hybrid (or Kluger Hybrid as they would refer to itt) there. A quick check of www.lexus.com.au shows they don't sell the HX400 there either.

So either they're saying sales are not what they expected in Australia because they don't sell them there, or they're talking about the Japanese market.

Present the facts/data/quotes, so others can draw conclusions of their own.

Our collective knowledge can find out what "domestic" actually means.

Keep in mind, we have language and culture translations issues to consider when reading articles from the other side of the planet.

Is the fact that they don't sell either highlander-derived based hybrid model in Australia enough?

So since that should be enough, the discussion can continue. That combined with the fact that people are getting them for under MSRP here, is certainly interesting.

It didn't strike me as surprising -- I just assumed that in Japan, SUVs were not that popular in the first place, so the price jump for a hybrid SUV would be a barrier. I.e., that the Japanese market favors a smaller car.

However, I really don't know. Can someone more familiar with Japan comment on SUV popularity (as well as car size preferences) in Japan?

im sorry, but nothing you say washes with me.

who in australia would give a rats ass about what does and does not sell in japan.

if you have a product that is not selling in australia, who do you talk to??

salesman in australia that can only sell what they are given or manufacturers in japan that can change what they are making?

Well, Australia is part of the whole Pacific Rim economy, so trends in Japan tend to become trends in Australia. But the fact is they don't sell it in Australia, so it has to be about Japan.

Actually, there's a lot of business done between Australia and Japan. I could see why this would be published in an Australian business section.

What's more, I'm American, and I'm interested in the Japanese hybrid market. Hybrids were introduced in Japan about 4 years earlier than they were in the US, and there are more hybrid models in Japan than in any other country.

I figure that most new, interesting hybrids will be introduced in Japan first, so I like to track the market.

perhaps all of you are correct and perhaps not.

can anyone find any corroborating evidence?

to be honest with you, i would not have expected SUV's of any type to do well in japan. expected sales of the Toyota SUV hybrids was projected at 500 units a month. so obviously Toyota didnt expect much either

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0...utos-125088.htm

I can see lots of reasons the Highlander might not be selling so well, but the discount would not prove this to be true. The Hhghlander is way inflated in price compared to a Prius so they have lots more room to fiddle with the price you pay. Also if a regular model is discounted I would think customers would demand that for the hybrid version also or it would be like payng way over list for the hybrid portion.