Do you know where we can find sales figures for the HiHy and Prius? I'm wondering if the reduction in the tax credit has affected the sales of the Toyotas?

I was at my dealer for my first oil change, and they had at least 4 limiteds and 7 regular HiHy's in stock. And most were 4wd. And they also had 4 Prius as well.

When i bought my HiHy in July, the dealer might have had 2 non-limited HiHy's in stock and sold every Limited as soon as it arrived. I was shocked to see the Prius on the dealer lots as well, as this summer, the only Prius on the lot was my salesman's personal car.

Just for grin's, I just went to another dealer's website that shows their inventory, and they have 12 non-limited and 5 limiteds in stock, all 4wd except for one. They also have 3 prius in inventory.

Whats going on?

 

Well, first off, the tax cred is now 1/2 of what it was. Also, most dealers really lower prices after the new year. Lastly, some people are disapointed about mileage expectations(EPA's fault not Toyota's) and are either waiting for improved technology(like plug ins) or new ideas all together. Me, I'm really happy with my 06 Prius. I average 54 MPG without much effort. My wife has to really try to get 28 MPG out of our 07 HiHy. I imagine our next vehicles will be radically different(5 to 10 years).

 

All sorts of things seem to be happening.

1. The tax credits on Toyota hybrids were halved,
2. there was a 'run' on toyota hybrids before the credits were halved given a tight squeeze followed by a slowdown,
3. production of the prius is no longer being blocked by producing the Camry hybrid (they moved production to Kentucky for the Camry),
4. seasonally (all car) sales are slower,
5. and gas prices are down (not really down, but no longer $3 or more).

Also, there are more choices in hybrids today, so buyers are getting spread out amongst them. If you want to see some facts and figures, you can go to my site: http://hybridreview.blogspot.com/200...mber-2006.html or to greencarcongress: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006...es_of_hyb.html

 

What timing. This article posted today discussing the downturn in hybrid sales: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16152366/

 

Toyota's sales figures for the HiHy for 2006:

Aug 2,581
Sep 2,347
Oct 1,643
Nov 1,667

You can just google: toyota torrance sales 2006 (month)
to find the press releases with all the figures.