Toyota Prius Plug In Sales Flop?

2015 was bad because Toyota stopped producing the PiP/Prius PHV/PPi in, I believe it was July.

2016 will be bad since there is no PiP/PHV/PPi planned for 2016.

 

old news, not really sad. first world sadness maybe. anywho, there's a new one coming late this year.

 

Slow News Day!

 

Toyota surprised us just 1-yr ago early 2015 announced plan to stop making first gen PiP's. I don't think we know all the reasons. But the green CA HOV stickers were mostly gone and new plug-ins on the scene such as FORD Fusion and CMAX were starting to eat PiP's lunch. I do not expect strong sales of the Gen2 PiP2, nor any other PHEV, unless CA extends the PHEV plug-in HOV program,

 

i think they needed to switch the factory over. so they built enough supply to get through to the pip 2.016.

 

In a few months, your Prius Prime will be here!

 

The original PiP is not even " Choice".....

 

The price of oil isn't helping either.

P.S. I still don't think I've seen another PiP on the roads up here in Ontario. Yes, they're kind of hard to recognize unless you're specifically looking for them, but the green plates we usually have gives them away. All the green plates I see are for other (non-Toyota) vehicles.

 

......and it is not extrange.

 

^^^ I don't understand.

 

The majority of PiPs are sold in CA. I think Toyota tied production to the end of the green decals because they didn't think the limit would be increased a third time. Without the solo HOV incentive would decimate sales. We on the forum are informed buyers but most Prius shoppers don't understand the benefits of a plug in. All they think is the car costs $4000-$6000 more than the regular Prius and you have to plug it in. The regular one doesn't need it. It's a hassle to apply for the rebate and wait for your tax credit.

Add on that the Mirai was going to be released that receives more than double the CARB credits, then the PiP and the RAV4 EV as compliance vehicles have little reason to exist.

I actually don't think PiP 2.0 will ever be released since the Mirai is here. But I guess given the Mirai's refueling woes, Toyota should continue with its backup plan instead of lining Tesla's pocket books for credits.

 

Hmm... In Canada I think the PiP 2.016 will be released even though it hasn't shown up on Toyota Canada's website yet.

As for the Mirai, in my opinion it will not be a popular car in the near to mid term, even compared to PHEVs, precisely because of the refueling issues. In Canada, the Mirai is a complete non-starter. The various governments have near-zero interest in supporting its required infrastructure. Hyundai is releasing one but I'm not optimistic about it, given there is little infrastructure for it. The main reason it gets any attention at all IMO is because the lease costs gets them free fuel-ups, so no direct fuel cost for the end users. Lots of support for PHEVs and EVs from the governments however.

Note though, in many Canadian provinces, electricity is much cleaner than most US states. This is true in Ontario where the EV CO2 output would likely be in the range of about 50 g/km, while in Quebec it's more like 1/20th that at 2.5 g/km (all hydro power).

 

"Great things are around the corner."

 

A teaser photo! Around the corner means what?: Will show up in New York Autoshow; Mar 25 – Apr 3, 2016 :

 

The text says "Plug-in Hybrid vehicle will arrive later in 2016"

 

that shadowy profile sure looks a lot better than the ford they actually built.

 

It looks pretty good in this wide-angle shot. It's from the article "2017 Toyota Prius Gets Over 100,000 Orders In Japan."