DDS62

http://bit.ly/z3tTyp

Toyota Hybrid sales for January = 16,065
Prius……...11,5555
Camry…….. 2,116
CT200h…… 1,025
RX450…….. 753
Highlander…362
HS250h…….152
GS450……… 25
LS600h……… 8

General Motors Hybrid sales for January = 1,548
LaCrosse…… 781
Volt………… 603 (not classed as a hybrid)
Regal……….. 63
Escalade……34
Yukon……… 24
Silverado…… 21
Tahoe………. 18
Sierra………… 4

Honda Hybrid sales for January = 1,304
Insight……... 492
Civic……….. 449
CR-Z…..…... 363

Ford Hybrid sales for January = 898
Fusion……… 611
MKZ……….... 253
Escape……… 34

Nissan Hybrid sales for January = 27
M35h……….. 27

Think Infiniti will Edsel the new M35h ?

ntrainer

Have you seen the sticker price on the M35h?? That car STARTS at $53,700. It's comparable to the GS450, then. If Lexus isn't going to kill the GS, why would Infiniti kill the M35h?

DDS62

It was a rhetorical question. It would be hard to envision Infiniti killing their first Hybrid on their flagship product, just as it would be hard to envision Lexus killing their new GS regardless of poor sales.

Along these lines, what is your opinion on why Lexus Edseled the HS?

TheAirman

Still only rumor that can't be confirmed.

BTW, the Infinity M is nice. It's got a big powerful engine, and it's fast! And it's still getting around 30 mpg and it's got about 360 horse power.

The price is high and I have yet to see one on the road.

DDS62

I am guessing that these low sales volume cars are being assembled on the same line as their ICE counterparts. I have always been under the understanding that an assembly line must have a production of about 12,000 per month to justify their existence. I worked at a GM assembly plant in Ohio as a young man and I can attest to the enormous amount of investment that is involved in building such a manufacturing facility - billions of dollars. I would bet the condo there is no way Infiniti could afford to operate a separate line and produce just one cars a day.

And along that line of reasoning I might speculate that the US HS was being built on the same line as the Japanese version with a lot of manual off line assembly and finish work, something that proved to be to costly - especially when the demand for loaded vehicles over whelmed the demand for the basic HS.

LexFather

Wrong. It's a giant failure. The GS 450h it's first year sold almost 2,000 units. Infiniti might sell 500 or so.
It's pretty sad the brand new 2012 M35h getting 29MPG sold 27 cars and the 5 year old 2011 GS 450h getting 23MPG sold 25 units.

Maybe they should spend less time trying to insult the GS in ads and more time trying to fix the ailing car and brand.

GoHuskers

So, Toyota sold more than 10 times its next competitor in hybrid race? That means a lot.

TheAirman

Great list ! Thanks!!

I looked at most of those before I decided on the HS. One that is missing is the Sonata Hybrid. I wonder about that one. I've seen only one on the road so far.

It was nice, but the L-Ion batteries worried me, and it just didn't have that level of luxury the Lexus had. It felt kind of "cold" and " Cheap Plastic" feeling to me.

DDS62

I am surprised that Lexus sold 152 HSs. It will be interesting to see the February sales figures.

TheAirman

I'm going to guess that the closer gas gets to the "projected" $5.00, the harder the HS will be to find, and more and more people will suddenly want one. Just like last time about a year ago. I'll guess also, you'll see the CT sales skyrocket too.

What I don't get was the Lincoln MKZ had such low sales considering it was priced the same as the non-hybrid model. It was my choice number three that I was looking at before I got the HS. It's really a nice car for a Lincoln, and for being made in Mexico.

I guess it shows Americans have enjoyed low gas prices as compared to the rest of the world for so long, and we just haven't taken to the hybrids, alternate fuels, or econo-cars.....................yet.

ntrainer

February sales figures are in, and the HS sold.... 150 units.

JayGoldste

On the up side, at least sales are holding steady. :-D

DDS62

I checked several dealerships around the US and found none that keep HS's in stock. Evidently you have to ask about the vehicle and then demand they order one for you. If that doesn't suggest Lexus is the killer of this model what does? If they can sell 150 under these circumstances, they can sell a whole lot more by promoting them.

ntrainer

I live in the D.C. Metro area, and 3 out of 4 of the Lexus dealerships here have at least one in stock (or, at least, the closest three dealerships to me have them). Just FWIW. My buying experience, though, was instructive. Though we went into a dealership asking for "entry level" sedans with decent back seat room, they never suggested the HS. This is despite the fact that we mentioned at one point that the mileage on the ES wasn't that great. We discovered the HS on our own, and THEN went back to the dealership to get a test drive. At the first dealership -- which perhaps should remain nameless -- the test drive was a total joke, as the salesman took us on HIS suggested path, which included no hills, no parking, and no curves. The second dealership was fabulous (and therefore got our business when it was time to buy), but it was still a really "soft" sale, as if the salesman didn't really believe this was a great car whose virtues needed to be touted. Many have noted difficulties getting Premium trim packages. I asked about this at our test drive (at the 2nd dealership) and was told there hasn't been demand for them here. We got lucky and found a pretty tricked out, slightly used '11 when we bought (in January of '12), but indeed there are very few Premium vehicles here...

My sense is therefore that (a) there are HS vehicles out there for you to buy, but (b) because of low sales, it's almost impossible to get the exact package you might want, as you can with other vehicles, and (c) the sales force isn't really behind this car. It's a vicious cycle, of course. If the sales force isn't going to support the vehicle, they're not going to sell many, and it will therefore become a much more frustrating buying experience because it will be impossible to get the car you want. I consider myself lucky; other than the lack of seat memory, we just managed to snag a vehicle that had everything else we wanted. And in the color we wanted. But we were definitely aware that if we didn't get this particular car, we would be SOL.

DDS62

Reading old articles about the HS I found that Lexus originally planned for sales of around 2,000/mo, but never came close to their expectations during the first 12 month period – Aug 2009 thru Aug 2010. I recall sales figures of around 800 per month during the first six months and around 500 during the final six months of that period. That was when I came in, and about the time when the supply seemed to drop drastically. My theory is that Lexus originally had allotted a separate plant for the US HS but after they realized that they were never going to sell that many cars closed the plant and retooled it for one of the new models that they are now producing - allowing a year more production in an effort to silence criticism, and quell customer revolt. I am guessing the US HS’s are now being produced mostly off line with an inordinate amount of manual assembly and finish work. Five dollar gas and the fact that the base price is inordinately high, is what is likely keeping the car alive.

Looking at the cars in the list above you have to wonder why there are so many other Auto manufacturers that have very small hybrid sales numbers yet have no propensity to drop them from production. I would suspect that is because most of them have gas powered engine counterparts and they have designed them both to run on the same lines with little or no off line work required. Fact is, the Buick “E-Assist” (mild hybrids) cars are being sold as a no cost options to their gas engine counter parts. You actually pick whether you want a hybrid or a gas powered engine just like you pick the exterior and interior colors. This would be the proper way to design and sell hybrids IMO. I bet the condo that all of the Buick E-Assist cars are produced on the same transfer lines with zero off line work. The Buick LaCrosse, which competes directly with the HS starts at $29,500

I might also suspect that somebody or group within Toyota is taking a lot of heat for assuming they could sell so many HS’s in the first place, because apparently, contrary to popular opinion there simply isn’t that level of demand for hybrids as yet. It appears that only the Prius is a true winner based on the assumption that it takes about a thousand per month to reach good profit margins.

Ntrainer is correct about the availability of the HS. There seem to be more of them in stock now than during the last month of January. However it appears that they are almost all base models. I couldn’t find any loaded HS’s.

Currently:
Longo Lexus, LA has one base model
Catena Lexus, NY has two base models (they also have two 2011 models one of which is an entry level premium)
McGrath Lexus, Chicago has None
Sewell Lexus, Dallas has two base models