Toyota Remains Unchallenged Global Hybrid Leader

Toyota is selling 3:4 hybrids globally. Good for them, and well deserved!
Still, I wish the hybrid Fit had come to the US

 

great data for all the haters, thanks bob!

 

That's great, and I believe the data.

But on the other hand? Part of me doesn't care.

Toyota is obviously committed to hybrid manufacture and sales. Their undeniable history supports this.

Specific sale number volume? Nice that hybrids haven't fallen off the map. Since I own a Prius , I'm glad Toyota still dominates the segment.

But Toyota themselves have described Hybrid technology as being a "bridge technology".

And despite the fact that I like my Hybrid and prefer it to other driving choices, I admit that we live in a culture, society and world still predominately dominated by fossil fuel usage, and in the automotive segment still dominated by the old ICE.

In other words? Haters are still going to hate, doubters still doubt. You aren't going to impress them or sway them with either the history or volume of Hybrids sold.

Maybe it's different from a global perspective, but in the USA? I think Toyota, Honda, Ford...but mostly Toyota...have done a good job communicating the message that Hybrids are available to purchase and a usable real automotive choice.

Maybe I'm personalizing it a bit. But despite owning a Prius now, for over a year, nearing a year and 1/2..and showing that it is a reliable, perfectly viable choice as a driving machine I still have a friend that says "Maybe someday Hybrids will be "ready" but they aren't there yet".

At this point? At least in the USA, I think you have people that want a Hybrid, or other alternative, those that would like a hybrid or at least consider one...and everyone else. And "everyone else"? At this point if they haven't embraced the legitimacy of Hybrids? I fear they never will.

I would say, it's my observation that the "everyone else" segment I think is shrinking. As younger people who I think have grown up in a world more attentive to environmental issues seem much more at ease and open to the idea of change and embracing not only Hybrids but all other alternatives that exist and may yet exist.

The haters and doubters are a pretty entrenched albeit dwindling group. Still hanging on to the psychology of pump, fill and go, engrained by decades and generational lifetimes of ONLY vehicles powered by singularly the internal combustion engine.

And I don't think they care how many Hybrids are sold globally...for them? Whatever the number is? It's a temporary fad..and fluke.

 

Since the overwhelming fraction of Prius owners want to use less petrol (for whatever reason,) Toyota calling the hybrid a 'bridge' is singing to the choir. I don't take offense; in fact I support Toyota whole-heartedly in their endeavor to obsolete petrol. One should not take that to mean however that HSD is a few year solution. There will likely be decades of PHEV iterations that have increasingly more electric and less petrol blending, or possibly hybrids of electric and another fuel.

To the extent that I care about HSD, it has a long and (I think) very brilliant path ahead, simply because it efficiently blends fuels. Do I really care about HSD ? Not as much as I care about the goal of clean transportation. Let the best technology win!

 

The one thing I find strange: I never see Prius hatchback advertised in our local paper. The Prius c and v when they came out, a bit, and that seems to have died down. Guess they sell themselves?

We got one of the early second gen Civic Hybrids, back in 2005, when the playing field seemed slightly more level. That didn't go so good. The car's still on the road, on it's second battery, and I'm not sure how long that's gonna go. Honda's hybrid numbers are near zero now.

 

Oh, I don't take offense either. And with that description, I think Toyota considers it a long, long bridge. Toyota isn't biting their own hand with that description.

I don't take that statement by Toyota as an insult and I don't present it here with the intent of it being perceived as an insult or slight. As I said, one only has to look at the HISTORY of hybrids as supported by Toyota to believe Toyota obviously is committed and has been committed to hybrid production and sales.

I think the admission that hybrid technology as it exists today is a "bridge technology" is simply an admission by Toyota that as far as research and development goes, they aren't committed to ONLY hybrid/battery based technology. Which is as it should be.

As you say, let the best technology win.

 

A few things stuck out at me. First the stats look to be in error

but here we have
June 2014 Dashboard - HybridCars.com
232,788 hybrids and 29,129 plug in hybids. Toyota is including Lexus hybrids plus trucks and busses and the prius phv plug-in hybrid so the US market should be 261,917 +

I assume the Japanese market is much larger than this, but it is not 84.5% of the market. Because the Japanese market is fairly closed to US manufacturers, it gives japanese makers a big step up versus any other country.

If we assume hybrids were 100,000 outside the US and Japan that would put japan at 530,000 or about 60% of the hybrid market, but I don't trust either of those numbers either.

Strange that Ford was left out of the list. From the numbers ford would be number 3 behind honda, but ahead of hydundai. Outside of Japan Ford is number 2 in hybrids, but far behind toyota.

 

Is this news? Even "haters" know Toyota is the #1 seller of hybrids. For me the shocker is seeing Honda at #2 since their hybrids sell poorly in the U.S. Also what's Hyundai doing in #3? I figured Ford would be there

Did you ask your friend WHY he said that? I would because I'd be curious to know what he thinks a hybrid should be.
- More power? Well Honda made the Accord V6 hybrid with 260 hp and still it was ignored.
- More room? There's the Prius V and also SUV hybrids.
- Something else your friend desires?

I always find it a mystery why people say "no" to hybrids..... so I ask them and find out.

 

I often wonder when people get in one of these at the airport - if they think:



WOW !! Look at how roomy !!
Then when it comes time to buy - they remember their roomy cab ride - and that it's famous for high mpg's.
The Crown Vic mpg's never made me want to buy one

.

 

A well written article should never look like a story problem. That article jumped around linking un like things, so not only was it badly written but it was non informative.

As Troy said, everyone knew that toyota took the biggest share of hybrids. So that is a no brainer.

June 2014 Dashboard - HybridCars.com
I see only 1305 nissan hybrid sales in the US, which doesn't match the 14,055 unless you include the leaf bev sales. Extremely unclear as I'd be suprised if the number of leaf sales in Europe for the leaf was only 4106. Perhaps they didn't use a full 6 months in europe?

 

This only works with a level playing field. Take out the subsidies, add in the costs of externalities, and we'll see which technology is the real winner.