April Not Any Better For Prius Sales

I'm guessing Honda is not thrilled at that April number for the Insight. Roughly 2% of their monthly sales was for the Insight...not promising if they were expecting to see consumers clamor for their newest creation.

If US buyers are choosing between the Insight and the Prius...clearly they are waiting for the Prius.

In comparison, March 2009 sales for Toyota was roughly 130,000 and roughly 9,000 of those were Prius (about 8% of their sales). If Honda is trying to grab a piece of the hybrid market they will need the Insight to be the "centerpiece" of their sales...like the Prius is to Toyota in terms of hybrids. Toyota has a two-headed monster with the Camry as sales of both the conventional and hybrid versions are still doing very well...coupled with the Prius, Toyota will be difficult to even touch in this regard.

Prius 2010 sales numbers, IMO, are only limited by the number of 2010 models they can get onto US lots...they will not be on the lots for long (which says more about current Toyota power than anything given the current economic situation). Will be interesting to see what actual sales for the 2010 Prius are on June 1. If 9,000 Prius were sold in March 2009 I can only imagine what June/July sales for the Prius will be with the 2010 in the mix.

 

Don't expect much. First deliveries won't be until late May.

June is when the real fun begins (on many fronts). So, the July 1 reports are what we'll all be eager to get.
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OK, so one conventional car got the same estimated modern EPA combined rating as the P-II. Not as the P-III.

Compared to the CRX HF, the P-II has 21% more cross section, rear seats large enough for adults with legs and heads, more cargo space, 31% more gasoline power (not counting electric boost), 2 seconds faster 0-60 time, 63% more weight, power steering, power brakes, ABS, airbags, side impact beams, strong passenger cage, many more safety features that didn't exist in any 1980s cars, and 4- and 5-star crash ratings.

In short, the CRX-HF is a minicar with no modern crash safety, far short of today's minimum legal standards. The P-II is a higher performance midsize car with very modern crash safety. So, yes, by 1980s standards, Prius is a miracle. And the P-III is even better.

 

The Fusion to me seems to expensive (at least in terms of MSRP). At $27,270 for 41 mpg combined, that seems pretty pricey, even after the $1700 tax credit. The equipment level included at that price point isn't terribly impressive either.

The 3rd gen Prius is priced at $22K now and with a more stripped down $21K Prius coming.

Ditto. Yep, per Honda CRX Specifications, the 2010 Prius is >1300 lbs. heavier, more than double the power, has seating for 3 more people along w/a multitude of other features, both safety and non-safey related. Even the Smart ForTwo is heavier than the 87 CRX HF.

Normally By The Numbers — Autoblog will have the figures but it looks like they haven't put up the April 09 sales yet. I don't have the time right now to look up and post all the sales stats.

 

Showing a decline from 2008 to 2009 is not the best comparison of the value or popularity of the Prius. Instead, we should compare the sales figures from 2007 or even 2006. The figures for 2008 are extremely high and affected by abnormal gasoline prices and the almost panic mindset of many purchasers, and the figures for 2009 probably are affected by the state of the economy. At least going back another year or two will make for an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

Oh god... Not another, my 87 Geo Metro two door could almost get as good a milage as the Prius guy....

Such an idiotic argument...

 

Two factors mitigating against the firesale theory. There are no more 09s in the pipeline beyond what's on the ground already. IMO there are enough 09s to cover sales for 60-90 days and then they're gone. We have enough to last 60 days - maybe.

The 10s will not be suddenly able to ramp up immediately to fill the lots. Most of the early Prius' are either pre-ordered or will be snapped up off the truck. I don't see there being a 'normal' supply of 10s available until mid summer. The 09s will be long gone by then IMO except for an isolated unit or two.

 

It's convenient when you find something inconvenient for yourself, you label it "idiotic." How civil and adult.

The point of the "idiotic" argument is that many people who buy a Prius are attracted to its MPG number and cult appeal, not its size, performance, or comfort. If they had a 50 MPG Honda Civic CRX HF today that cost much less, I'm sure it would also create a cult appeal and attract many with its MPG number. Not to mention that if they put a hybrid system on it, it would get 70 MPG.

It's largely a matter of marketing. In Europe Prius is not as popular for mainly the reason above -- there are cheaper alternatives with comparable or even higher MPG (take Ford Fiesta diesel for example).

This is not to say that Prius is not a great car -- it is -- but to bring more objectivity and light into the matter. And, certainly, Toyota's move to cut down prices was a very good one.

 

You know, I actually had one of those tiny little Honda cars back in the 70s. I forget what they were called. I used to average 42 MPG in that little bugger. But you're right, to compare that car to today's cars is not really useful.

 

How do you live with yourself posting such goofieness? Do you realize the the 2009s are $1500 to $2500 lower in price than the 2008s. It's amazing how people sit in front of a keyboard and just type without doing any preliminary research.

As others have pointed out you're comparing a bicycle with an advanced motor vehicle. Go all the way why don'tcha.. compare walking to a Prius. In addition to all the other features including weight, size, safety did you also factor in that the EPA tests done in the 80s are not the same as those done in 2009? Nope? I didn't think so.

That's not accurate at all. In this MY the Packages #2 and #4 will be $600 higher than the 10s. However the similarly-equipped 2010s will be $1500 to $2500 higher than the Packages #5 and #6 in the 09s. Accuracy is important in everything because you will be called out on off-the-cuff remarks made with no prior research.

 

The point is that the 80's version of the Honda CRX HF would not be legal to sell today. With the needed features to make it legal it would not get 50 mpg. Even if by some miracle it did maintain the same 50 mpg with the new EPA fuel economy tests the 80s values of 50-ish would immediately be reduced to 43-ish so 50 mpg is bogus right from jump street.

Research please.

 

I did research and have explained this already. Please read someone's posts more carefully before you accuse him/her of posting bogus information. See the link below, which was provided twice in the above posts:

Compare Old and New MPG Estimates

As you see there are both the new set of numbers, according to the modern test method, and the old set of numbers, according to the 1985 test method.

With all due respect, your post criticizing my Prius pricing is so full of completely wrong information and makes some ridiculous remarks; so, I won't even bother replying to it. In that case as well, I've fully done my research and all my numbers are quite accurate indeed; so, do your own research before jumping into bashing others please.

 

Sorry, you guys made me nostalgic. Anyone else remember the original 1973 Honda Civic, which I drove just after high school (oops, dating myself):

"The 1973 Honda Civic debuted in July of 1972 as a little coupe, with twin cylinder, air-cooled engines that were placed transversely to help give the tiny Civic a bit more interior space. The '73 Civic, which also came as a hatchback later in the year, was a very (extremely) basic car having plastic trim, an AM radio, and a heater that worked on occasion. It relied heavily on Honda's knowledge of motorcycle technology. Yet, people were amazed that four adults could fit into this car that had only an 86.6-inch wheelbase and 12-inch wheels. Even more shocking was that even at that time, the Civic got 40 mpg, which was terrific since the U.S. was faced with a gas shortage. And they loved the fact that because of its size it could easily weave in and out of traffic and park almost anywhere. There were only a few options to choose from, which consisted of an auto transmission, a rear wiper on the hatchback, air conditioning, and radial tires."

It was kind of a cool car at the time, due to the oil embargo, high MPG, and transverse mounted engine etc. Given the size and the newness of of Honda to the U.S., I don't think it was ever in short supply. Can't remember what happened to it, but given my driving habits at the time, there was probably some sort of accident that put it out of commission.

 

Long gone, only if the dealers holding them offer financial incentives for buyers to take them off their lots. I figure the best time to get a deal on the 09s will be during the May - June period, when the majority of buyers interested in a Prius will be waiting for the 2010 model, with the attendant publicity, centered around "50 MPG".

 

Since Autoblog still doesn't have their April figures up, see below. Due to the choice of font, you might be better of viewing their source to get a better formatted/lined up table.
U.S. New Car Sales April 2009
U.S. Light Vehicle Sales, Market Share for April 2009

Also, if you've never looked at top 20 sales figures, these are interesting the first few times, esp. for those who live in California where few people buy American cars (plenty of American SUVs though, esp. monstrosity class ones).

Top 20 Selling Vehicles in U.S Jan-April 2009

 

Thank you, I'll bookmark the site.

 

Thank you,

Many times, a table of numbers doesn't really tell us what is going on. Converting them to a graph brings a sense of perspective (see attached.)

The way I see it:

• Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan - lost momentum
• Everyone else - about the same

Bob Wilson

 

Conversion from the old EPA to the new MPG just used some formula for agressive and higher speed.

It doesn't automatically add Climate control, airbags, etc.. to the Civic just because you converted to 2008 EPA number!

 

The car industry is suffering across the board right now. With $2 gas, there is no extra incentive for people to flock to hybrids like they did last summer. In a weak market, only the strongest competitors survive, and that's what we're seeing right now in the car industry. The weak companies are being weeded out.

I think the next big step in hybrids will come from the government, in the form of carbon emissions mandates and hybrid rebates to purchasers. Stricter carbon emissions and mpg standards will force car companies to increase their hybrid production. Hybrids will become a much greater part of the fleet. The car industry in 5 years will be completely different.

 

Thanks, excellent summary.