Prius sales down 40 percent in May: Defending Toyota
What caused limited supplies?Yesterday, Toyota reported that Prius sales were down 40 percent in May because of limited supplies. Now, Toyota has made numerous statements about potential Prius shortages for several months, so this seems expected. Still, is Toyota to be blamed for the $3000.00 markups that some dealers have placed on the Prius and other hybrids because of this shortage?
Considering the lack of hybrid vehicles coming from almost every other automaker, it seems a bit unfair to blame Toyota for not meeting significantly increased hybrid demand amidst rising oil prices. While I wish Toyota would demand that dealers not add markups to MSRP, can Toyota really be blamed for a lack of hybrids from other automakers and for unscrupulous dealers?
I remain disappointed in my local Toyota dealership, but I blame every other automaker, except Honda, far more than I blame Toyota for a lack of fuel efficient automobile choices.
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:40 AM
2 Comments:
Toyota sold >183 thousands Prius last year (15000+ per month), and said for 2008 they couldn't increase production much. So maybe 16000 a month is all we can expect this year, and that's what we're getting so far (80000 over 5 months)
Prius sales are about half of the total hybrid sales, even though there are about a dozen other hybrid models out there. Why can't they crank up their production to fill the hybrid demand, which is clearly outstripping supply? I know battery supplies (Ford) and leaking issues (GM) are part of the problem, but for the most part the others just don't seem committed to large scale hybrid production.
I'm not sure.
If I'm not mistaken a fire limited Prius production for a little while. Additionally, I wonder how much trying to prepare for the third generation Prius is affecting current Prius production.
Next year, Prius production is supposed to go up 60 percent, so hopefully that helps. Of course, if gas prices stay high, that might not be enough - crazy!
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