"Dogs" of car sales

If Summer gas prices start spiking I don't think the Prius family will have too many dogs. Now is most likely the time to purchase before the next self made refinery catastrophy or NYSE speculator scemes.

 

Knowledge is power.
But good luck anyway.

Even if lower sales "should" give you leverage? Most dealerships are just going to pretend the vehicle YOU specifically want, is locally in high demand. Because they don't really care about the uncountable number of people they can't sell the vehicle to...they only are focused on the 1 person sitting across from them that they can sell the vehicle to.

I'm guessing that Prius sales being down, is in regards to the Regular Prius Hatchback.

A little interesting because with the new Prius "family", Toyota has created competition within themselves. There has to be some percentage of buyers that in the past might of bought a "Prius" that now are buying The Prius c, and/or Prius v.

I'm kind of wondering how 'The Family" is doing....

 

The Edmunds analyst says Prius, "...now faces a segment crammed with hybrids." I wouldn't write a Prius obituary yet. Big fluctations are normal for hybrid sales, which move in cycles with gas prices. Prius still has the highest gas mileage in its segment. As GSW notes, Toyota has positioned themselves for this summer's gas spike, not to mention future gas spikes.

As Electric Me states, the Prius family has created competition within itself, but I think Toyota has perfectly targeted the key markets: cheap (Prius c), single (Prius), and family (Prius v). The Prius family has not grown too large. Consumer Reports ripped apart the Prius c, but people are still recognizing it's a great hybrid value and buying it.

 

It is merely a comparison of March 2012 Prius sales to March 2013 Prius sales.

Remember the gas price spike last year? Remember the March 2012 headlines like this?

Gas prices up for 10th straight day

.
I was shopping for a Prius last March. Though my purchase had been pre-meditated for over a year, the rising gasoline prices and the gloomy perception that gas would not come down meant far more competition over hybrids. Here in Omaha the dealerships sometimes didn't even have a Prius on the lot. AND they were telling me that I was lucky they were willing to sell me one for sticker price! I ended up driving to Montana to deal with a reasonable dealership.

The article is an interesting data point, and yes, it is likely that there are more Prius on the lots now than last year. Larger supply favors the buyer somewhat.

But I bristle a bit that they dare lump the Prius under the category of "dogs" of the car dealership.

The dynamic behind the year-to-year comparison of Prius sales is very different than from the conventional vehicles.

 

“the poster child for hybrid technology, now faces a segment crammed with hybrids,”

When you're at the top, everyone aims at you. This maybe a bit harsh, a stall and it's already a "dog".

 

Fair enough, send your dad this note and ask him,"Which Prius is the 'dog'?"

	Column 1
0	[tr][th]model[th]Mar_13[th]Feb_13[th]Jan_13[th]Dec_12
1	[tr][td2]Toyota Prius Liftback[td2]13868[td2]11428[td2]9685[td2]12536
2	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
3	[tr][td2]Toyota Camry Hybrid[td2]4461[td2]4147[td2]3826[td2]4443
4	[tr][td2]Toyota Prius C[td2]4026[td2]3148[td2]2691[td2]3151
5	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
6	[tr][td2]Jetta Diesel[td2]3653[td2]3261[td2]2690[td2]3346
7	[tr][td2]Toyota Prius V[td2]3460[td2]2543[td2]2522[td2]2992
8	[tr][td2]Fusion Hybrid[td2]3417[td2]3806[td2]3043[td2]3244
9	[tr][td2]Ford C-Max Hybrid[td2]3275[td2]2849[td2]2387[td2]3339
10	[tr][td2]Passat Diesel[td2]3237[td2]2233[td2]1770[td2]2624
11	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
12	[tr][td2]Nissan Leaf[td2]2236[td2]653[td2]650[td2]1489
13	[tr][td2]Tesla Model S*[td2]1950[td2]1400[td2]1000[td2]900
14	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
15	[tr][td2]Sonata[td2]1623[td2]1441[td2]1192[td2]1874
16	[tr][td2]Avalon Hybrid[td2]1616[td2]1361[td2]1040[td2]747
17	[tr][td2]ES Hybrid[td2]1561[td2]1154[td2]1324[td2]1866
18	[tr][td2]Chevrolet Volt[td2]1478[td2]1626[td2]1140[td2]2633
19	[tr][td2]Malibu Hybrid[td2]1359[td2]1254[td2]981[td2]1381
20	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
21	[tr][td2]Lexus CT200h[td2]1062[td2]1182[td2]1001[td2]1598
22	[tr][td2]GL-Class Diesel[td2]1011[td2]773[td2]578[td2]954
23	[tr][td2]Kia Optima Hybrid[td2]1001[td2]1215[td2]909[td2]751
24	[tr][td2]RX 400 / 450 h[td2]925[td2]756[td2]744[td2]1394
25	[tr][td2]Prius Plug In[td2]786[td2]693[td2]874[td2]1361
26	[tr][td2]Golf Diesel[td2]754[td2]885[td2]552[td2]664
27	[tr][td2]Lacrosse Hybrid[td2]717[td2]706[td2]576[td2]819
28	[tr][td2] [td1]-[td1]-[td1]-[td1]-
29	[tr][td2]Honda Civic Hybrid[td2]572[td2]433[td2]429[td2]512
30	[tr][td2]Ford C-Max Energi[td2]494[td2]334[td2]338[td2]971
31	[tr][td2]ML Class Diesel[td2]478[td2]317[td2]279[td2]486
32	[tr][td2]Highlander Hybrid[td2]477[td2]441[td2]452[td2]588
33	[tr][td2]BMW X5 Diesel[td2]462[td2]428[td2]382[td2]1022
34	[tr][td2]Honda Insight[td2]454[td2]388[td2]319[td2]310
35	[tr][td2]Honda CR-Z[td2]451[td2]381[td2]358[td2]243
36	[tr][td2]Cayenne Diesel[td2]451[td2]314[td2]396[td2]395
37	[tr][td2]Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid[td2]451[td2]272[td2]232[td2]162
38	[tr][td2]MKZ[td2]446[td2]177[td2]100[td2]321
39	[tr][td2]Regal Hybrid[td2]387[td2]375[td2]184[td2]181
40	[tr][td2]Touareg Diesel[td2]375[td2]392[td2]300[td2]487
41	[tr][td2]Fusion Energi[td2]295[td2]119[td2]0[td2]0
42	[tr][td2]Beetle Diesel[td2]284[td2]189[td2]174[td2]212
43	[tr][td2]Q7 Diesel[td2]279[td2]314[td2]192[td2]414
44	[tr][td2]Ford Focus EV[td2]180[td2]158[td2]0[td2]0
45	[tr][td2]Honda Civic[td2]167[td2]139[td2]126[td2]235
46	[tr][td2]ILX Hybrid[td2]145[td2]154[td2]84[td2]119
47	[tr][td2]RAV4 EV[td2]133[td2]52[td2]25[td2]52
48	[tr][td2]E-Class Diesel[td2]105[td2]122[td2]156[td2]196
49	[tr][td2]Audi Q5 Hybrid[td2]84[td2]76[td2]90[td2]122
50	[tr][td2]ActiveHybrid 3 (335ih)[td2]78[td2]88[td2]56[td2]144
51	[tr][td2]M Hybrid[td2]58[td2]46[td2]37[td2]76
52	[tr][td2]Lexus GS 450h[td2]56[td2]38[td2]34[td2]52
53	[tr][td2]ActiveHybrid 5 (535ih)[td2]51[td2]43[td2]18[td2]58
54	[tr][td2]Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid[td2]48[td2]38[td2]30[td2]69
55	[tr][td2]Cayenne Hybrid[td2]46[td2]32[td2]60[td2]84
56	[tr][td2]S-Class Diesel[td2]45[td2]35[td2]38[td2]38
57	[tr][td2]Cadillac Escalade Hybrid[td2]35[td2]30[td2]44[td2]90
58	[tr][td2]i[td2]31[td2]337[td2]257[td2]77
59	[tr][td2]A3 Diesel[td2]28[td2]107[td2]90[td2]211
60	[tr][td2]GMC Yukon Hybrid[td2]26[td2]23[td2]23[td2]65
61	[tr][td2]Accord Plug In[td2]26[td2]17[td2]0[td2]0
62	[tr][td2]E400H[td2]25[td2]22[td2]22[td2]0
63	[tr][td2]Fit EV[td2]23[td2]15[td2]8[td2]19
64	[tr][td2]Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid[td2]12[td2]43[td2]21[td2]18
65	[tr][td2]LS 600h[td2]12[td2]22[td2]14[td2]6
66	[tr][td2]Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid[td2]12[td2]14[td2]10[td2]47
67	[tr][td2]Porsche Panamera S Hybrid[td2]11[td2]5[td2]46[td2]46
68	[tr][td2]S400HV Hybrid[td2]8[td2]9[td2]12[td2]10
69	[tr][td2]GMC Sierra Hybrid[td2]6[td2]7[td2]9[td2]145
70	[tr][td2]7-Series ActiveHybrid[td2]4[td2]2[td2]3[td2]4
71	[tr][td2]R-Class Diesel[td2]1[td2]4[td2]3[td2]4
72	[tr][td2]HS 250h[td2]1[td2]1[td2]0[td2]2

Source: Hybrid Dashboard Report

The "Prius Plug-In" is the right answer for the lowest selling Prius. But this is somewhat misleading as it is only forsale in 14 States. There is enough demand that some early adopters have bought their Plug-In Prius in the 14 States and then driven it home.

So what "Other hybrid" do you have? Where is it in the table?

Bob Wilson

 

I guess it's top dog? Perhaps they meant it in a good way, like as in slang, "dog"(Randy Jackson).

 

I can't wait till summer time when gas prices soar.. I'll be lov'in my "dog".

 

After reading the author quoting "Jeremy Acevedo" of Edmunds, I was curious about someone from Edmunds making what appeared to be a rookie mistake:

About AutoObserver - AutoObserver

Hummm, so I clicked on the "home page" "News" of AutoObserver.com and no articles after 2011. Hummmm.

So I went to the Toyota Pressroom and found:

• 37,663 - Camry
• 31,423 - Corolla
• 22,140 - Prius
• 6,982 - Avalon (next in list)

Toyota actually does a press conference and this is what they had to say:

Source: Toyota | March 2013 Sales Conference Call Notes

So I'm just going to speculate that the original article may have a few problems with 'facts and data.' It really doesn't matter to those who prefer inaccurate news . . . Not my problem.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

To be fair, March 12 numbers should be in the table.

 

Not really as the table is looking at the current hybrid, diesel, EV, and CNG market. Specific vehicle historical data is available from other sources including Toyota directly . . . in their press meeting discussing the March 2013 sales.

Feel free to go to the Toyota Pressroom (Mr. Google can find it) and pull up the longitudal metrics. The table has another objective, the health of the fuel efficient (or claimed to be) market.

Bob Wilson

 

The Panamera buyers are holding out for their new plug-in, coming in the fall

 

Source: private e-mail sent

 

To the extent north Virginia is (was?) a hot Prius market, increased new taxes and hybrid fees could be making a dent here. I wonder if Virginia dealers will have to offer better deals on hybrids to improve in-state sales? Also a few years ago they took away VA HOV access for newer hybrids.

The only thing keeping Prius going here is higher gaso costs, and VA is also reducing state gaso taxes. In essence VA has intentionally adopted an anti-hybrid policy.

 

kentucky probably isn't a strong hybrid market, so you may do very well. all the best teacake!

 

March 2012 was exceptional as it marked the full normalization after the shortages combined with some incentives and a sales pick-up.

Hybrid sales are trending up overall.

And if your local dealers won't deal, shop somewhere else.

 

Tea,
Hey, if you see something that suggests Priuses aren't moving as fast as they might--sure you will use it in making your offers and counteroffers.
Good luck! Let us know what you buy.

 

When I was first looking for a Prius . . . many years ago . . . I found:

• rural dealers often had one - they would one only to find farm and small town folks were not interested. You have to make a lot of phone calls but go for 'country' and call the dealers to see what they have. Selection of colors and options might not be so hot.
• end of month is buyer's market - with a mortgage payment coming, the price often softens
• Good, Fast, Cheap - pick two

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

I think there are some real dogs in that article (i.e. Fugly Quest), but the author appears to be reading noise. I think the Toyota people probably got it right:

"Although the Prius was down nearly 23% on the year to 22,140 units in March, the company says the numbers are still 'robust' and attributes this to a temporary bump in the road. 'The year-over-year decrease reflects a very strong March 2012 in the midst of the Prius family marketing launch'..”​

​

You also have to remember that for much of the country we had an extremely warm March last year which probably also led to higher than expected dealer traffic and sales. One data point does not a trend make...