Featured Toyota’s Prius Pays Price for Cheap Gasoline

1) Consumers will shift demand towards larger vehicles when gas prices drop? Shocking.
2) RAV4 Hybrid is going to take away sales from the Prius line (Toyota should really have released the AWD Prius in the US for snowy states), so it would be more appropriate to compare Toyota's hybrid sales versus competitors hybrid sales instead of focusing in on a single model.
3) They mention the LEAF is down 36%, but anyone interested in buying an electric knows that the 200 mile range vehicles are right around the corner (with the Bolt due in dealerships by the end of the year). Again, shocking.

 

Yes. From 自販連のホームページ (you can get a translation via Google Translate), the Prius and Aqua (our Prius c) are the top 2 selling vehicles in Japan for every single month in 2016, so far.

US sales rankings look totally different: August 2016 YTD U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings - Top 299 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - Every Vehicle Ranked - GOOD CAR BAD CAR.

 

Among actual cars, sedans are still more popular than hatchbacks in the US, and those that want the flexiblitiy of the hatch, prefer it as a crossover/SUV. That's just how car tastes are here. So without the pressure expensive gas, most people that look at a Prius will either choose a Corolla, which has more cabin volume for thousands less, or they can get a Camry with a list price of that of the Prius. The Rav4 is also the same price for those that want a wagon.

If the E-four is as low power as it sounds, it is a good thing Toyota left in Japan, where they don't salt roads. They will also make more selling the Rav4 hybrid.

 

Besides low gaso prices, USA policy is pushing Plug-ins which Toyota is currently less interested.

 

USA policy is pushing hydrogen cars more than plugin's, which Toyota is really interested in. However, consumers aren't interested in those at all.

 

USA and California policy may be throwing a lifeline to FCV, but I don't feel as much of my tax dollars going to California for FCV as BEV <giant sucking sound of federal BEV incentives to CA, oh please>

 

Watch how fast the Pri flies of the shelves if the Fed's had the guts to throw on an extra $1/gallon tax for fixing the nations's rim busting pot holes & rickety bridges.
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I don't think most consumers even know what a Hydrogen car is!

 

USA? Don't you mean California and the Japanese government?

 

It's more of a CARB policy. It and California just have strong lobbying ability.

 

i thought we were getting some hydro filling stations in the northeast?

with a $7,500. federal tax credit, and some lucrative state credits, i would say plug ins have their fair share of incentives.

 

I do not know about FCV, but I am actually a big fan of H2.
One of my favorite elements. So watch it.

 

Lots of H2 on the sun . . . . & i do like the sun ... NO processing / conversion / reforming required

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That is not the problem. The problem is how you get it without dying in the process? There is something called Sun's gravity human has not accomplished escaping yet.

Might be cheaper to build a solarwind farm in space and space elevator to get the enervy back to Earth.

Or just put solar panels on your roof and called it a day.