TOYOTA OEM Hybrid Battery= Still $1950 here in Florida

But......is it really ??
" Dealer sets actual price. Contact dealer for limited warranty, inventory level, and return policy details."

 

Sam who did you contact at Treasure Coast Toyota? ‍ As usual Sam is his cynical self.

 

sounds like a good deal to me

 

I read what was posted at the link. All of it.
Nothing cynical about that.

 

has to be dealer set, msrp is much higher

 

We've seen this for over 10 years now. Dealer sets low wholesale price on the internet. People flock from the internet to buy only to be told you can't get that price unless you meet these 17 requirements. People call and confirm pricing only to drive 8 hours and be met with surprise by the parts counter people that say that's not the price.

So be careful out there. The battery prices were dropping slowly until my pack came out. Then they dropped significantly. Then with COVID, they all went up, some back to where it was 10 years ago. Those $3k repairs coming back. Short supply, hard to ship, and increased demand.

 

The last time I checked one of those teaser prices, there was an insignificant "packing" fee for the core.
I haven't seen a sub $2000 price yet....even if you exclude sales tax.


Caveat Emptor.

 

It is pathetic that we cannot make these in USA in volume to meet the demand.
One more nail in the coffin

 

It makes sense to manufacture NiMH batteries in Asia. The raw materials mostly come from Mongolia. Chinese and Japanese processing of the raw material can be done by rail versus sea. I'm aware Japan is an island but it's very different shipping from China to Japan than Mongolia to the US. Only export the final product.

 

That may be what the situation is but it is not out of necessity just a choice.
The reason these materials routinely come from places outside of the USA and are manufactured there is not because they have to, these materials are all available here. The manufacturers choose to source them elsewhere and to manufacture them elsewhere because they are able to hide the real costs by doing so. The USA for decades has lost manufacturing capabilities due to the greed of large company executives and the complicity of corrupt politicians. Loss of USA jobs, hiding the pollution from slipshod mining practices overseas and the consequential cost to the USA taxpayers are the results. This is also true of Lithium batteries. It’s a small start.
That is why it is pathetic.