March Canadian Toyota Hybrid Sales

It's interesting the Prius numbers are that low. I know Canada has 1/10th the population of the U.S. but that's still about 1/3 of the U.S. rate. OTOH, the Camry Hybrid outsold the Prius. Is that due to the pricing structure, or are Canadians more worried about the winter-worthiness of the Prius compared to the Camry?

 

I'm certainly no expert (and, in fact, will be probably making mistakes below as I didn't quite get the hang of the new Toyota USA site to grab pricing/package info, so I'm probably using the wrong packages to compare), but I'd say pricing structure probably has something to do with it.


In the US, the Prius touring base looks to be $23.4k, versus $29.5k here.
A base, automatic trans Camry is $21.2k in the states, $23.4k here.
A Camry hybrid is $25.4k in the states, $30.6k here.

The Camry hybrid is approx. $1000 more than a prius ($1500 more than Prius effectively since the Prius has a bit more rebate than the Camry from the Canadian feds) whereas in the states, it's a $2k jump up to a Camry hybrid from a Prius.

From a base Camry (which, I know, is not the proper basis for comparisons) it's a $4.2k jump to a hybrid vs. $7.2k here ($5.7 after federal rebate; just $3.7k in provinces with a $2k PST rebate like Ontario). From a base Camry to a Prius, it's a $2.2k step up in the states, versus $6.1 here ($2.1 after federal and provincial rebates).

So it looks like in both countries, the camry hybrid is priced as the higher model car, but there is less of a step up to get to a camry hybrid in Canada than there is in the US starting from either the regular Camry or the Prius. Also, there are more options on the Prius in the states (leather, HID, blue spectra) that aren't available here, whereas AFAIK a Canadian Camry Hybrid can come equipped with all the bells and whistles; that makes importing a Prius slightly more enticing. Also, availability may play a role. I haven't found a dealership yet that had a Prius demo (mind you, I also haven't been looking that hard or been looking around to see if there are camry hybrid demos).

Anyway, an interesting little factoid. Thanks Tideland.

[no currencies specified since at this point they're nearly par]

 

I have heard that a significant amount of Canadians come down to the US to save money when buying a Prius. That would count as a US sale.

 

No, that's not quite true. There are lots of Canadians bringing back cars from US. I priced out a US vs CDN Prius last night and I'd save about $3K in cost not to mention the time involved (transporting it back, getting an inspection, etc.). Not worth it IMHO. I've seen a lot more significant savings on other vehicles.

When I was at the stealership the other day for my Prius test drive, I saw the Camry hybrid in the showroom. Toyota is offering $1,500 cash back on the TCH, and the feds are giving a $1,500 eco-rebate... AND the financing rate (and maybe lease rate) is lower for the TCH. Toyota won't budge a penny off MSRP on the Prius however. But you do get a $2,000 eco-rebate on it.

Personally it's a no-brainer for me. I don't want the Camry, it's too boring a vehicle. It's like every other 4-door sedan on the planet except it's hybrid. And it gets 50 mpg city / 50 mpg highway. It's no comparison to the Prius that gets 71 mpg city / 67 mpg highway.

 

While visiting Vancouver, B.C. this past weekend I was surprised to see so many Prius taxi cabs - I would estimate 75% of Vancouver taxis are Priuses, no kidding. I talked with one of the Prius Taxi drivers who was all smiles about his great ride; he was of course pleased with the super fuel economy, but also mentioned its dependability (nearly 100K with nothing needed but oil changes), its ample interior space for passengers and their luggage, and the serious government tax incentives given to hybrid vehicle owners. With petrol in Vancouver at $1.30 per liter and rising, it's a safe bet Prius sales in Canada are on the increase, eh?