DDS62

Here are some sales figures for April Hybrid sales (added to an old post with _ /_). There are some inconstancies like stating Toyota sold a total of 25,168 Prius hybrids but the individual tally comes to only 23,514. Over all the article shows:
1) As Airman noted elsewhere hybrids really have not caught on except for Toyota and especially their Prius model
2) As 1SICKLEX noted elsewhere “HS production has stopped for the US market” – Don’t know if he had seen some official notice, but these sales figures certainly support his comment
3) Infinity, one of my favorite line of cars, should just pull out of the hybrid market. Their customers simply have no interest in them, because the new M35h is truly a wonderful car.
4) I still contend Lexus, not demand killed the HS for some yet undiscovered reason.
http://bit.ly/IFzLHD


Hybrid sales for January / April

Toyota/Lexus 16,065 / 32,593 total
Prius……...11,555 / 23,514
Camry…….. 2,116 / 4,406
CT200h…… 1,025 / 1620
RX450…….. 753 / 801
Highlander…362 / 552
HS250h…….152 / 28  She now belongs to the ages
GS450……… 25 / 10
LS600h……… 8 / 8

General Motors 945 / 3,038 Total
LaCrosse…… 781 / 1,165
Volt………… 603 / 1,462 (not classed as a hybrid)
Regal…………. 63 / 130
Escalade……... 34 / 57
Yukon……….. 24 / 40
Silverado…….. 21 / 30
Tahoe………... 18 / 47
Sierra……….… 4 / 12
Malibu Eco….... ? / 1,557

Honda ……1,304 / 1,838 total
Insight……... 492 / 738
Civic………. 449 / 766
CR-Z…..….. 363 / 334

Ford …………898 / 1,115 total
Fusion……… 611 / 778
MKZ……….. 253 / 397
Escape……… 34 / 0 ---- ?

Nissan………..62 / 33 total
Altima………..27 / 10
M35h……….. 35 / 23  Maybe Infiniti should Edsel the new M35h ya think?

Hyundai Sonata1,304 / 1,847

Kia Optima…….705 / 837

Mazda tribute….24 / 16

LexFather

Thanks for the breakdown. I am unsure if any 2013 GS 450h models were sold in April, they were to be officially sold in May. We can't build one on Lexus.com yet.

Toyota continues to dominate hybrids. Lexus sold many more expensive hybrids than Honda did total. As you stated the M in general including the M35h has been a disaster. To think they poked fun at the GS in ads, how ridiculous.

jbripps

with the pricing, I think that the 250h preowned market will do well at this point, at least for a while.. When I purchased preowned, I was eyeing a prius, but when I saw the HS, I jumped in a very low mileage lexus with a ton of warranty left for about 6k less than the prius I priced out with options.

There aren't many other pre-owned hybrids with the creature comforts that can be fetched for under 30k. I would think that the GS and Infiniti entry level prices are approx 50K or more....so it leaves the door very wide open for the preowned HS market....just my 2 cents.

TheAirman

Good job, and great research.

As gas prices continue to slide down, so will hybrid sales. People will once again buy "power" and size.

I'd be interested to see May's total sales to see if they match a decline in fuel prices.

It will take something drastic, like the gas lines of the late 70's, before people make the change to "economy" or "green".

DDS62

I was hoping that the HS sales would increase for a third straight month, possibly causing management to rethink their Edsel plan. However with only 28 cars sold, it is a clear signal that the dealerships are not even taking orders anymore - shipment to the states has most likely ended.

umpalumpa

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...ed-very-softly

DDS62

I can’t help but notice yet another article about the HS with a negative slant. Hopefully this will be the last one. Everybody has the right to form their own opinion, but this article tries to validate an opinion with statements that are just not accurate.

The author, Bengt Halvorson, writes how the HS was received with a fizzle upon introduction selling only 6700 cars the first year, yet @ 6700 sold, the rate for that four month period in 2009 would have put it’s sales just behind sales of the Camry, the second best selling hybrid on the market and equal to current sales of the CT200h. I just ask why describe the introductory sales HS as a fizzle if trying to be objective?

Then the author explains why the HS was a failure by noting it’s deficiencies and comparing it with the CT200h a car that he appraises as worthy of success. He described the HS packaging as “odd” with “tight head room”, and an un-Lexus like interior noise, yet the HS has the highest roof line of any Lexus sedan made and as much head room as any except the CT, which has the seat positioned @16 inches off the ground in order to get any headroom, but also makes it difficult to enter and exit the vehicle. The HS on the other hand has plenty of head room and it’s seat is almost 20 inches off the ground and is one of the easiest cars to get into and out of. As far as the noticeable and un-Lexus like interior noise, there doesn’t seem to be much confirmation of that subjective appraisal, especially from the owners of the HS. Perhaps Bengt forgot to wind up the window when he took his test drive. I am allowed to be sarcastic because the CT200h really does have an interior noise problem, a real and apparent problem with interior room, and most notably a major problem with engine power, yet Bengt describes the CT as a hatchback with “more usable interior space” and criticizes the HS for it’s performance which is at least 2 sec faster at 0-60 than the CT. Anybody that has driven both an HS and a CT would Never rate the CT having more space. Space is at such a premium in the CT there is nothing “more” about it.

The HS sold poorly for sure but for reasons that Bengt is not aware. Perhaps it was the two months the car was taken off the market in 2010 for potential gas tank leakage problems during a rear end collision, or the multiple recalls for floor mat interference and sudden engine acceleration? Ya think those things may have been a factort? Did Bengt even bother to actually drive either an HS or a CT ? Or did he just read about these cars elsewhere and write about them to meet his quota?

This article reminds me of the time I made a valiant effort to determine which washer/ dryer combo I should purchase based on evaluations and references posted on the internet. I came to the conclusion after days of reading hundreds of customer reviews that the Whirlpool Duet was perhaps the worst choice I could make. Every review was one of problems on top of troubles. But my sister happened to have purchased the Duet at that time so I postponed my purchase and waited for her problems to begin. They never materialized and eventually I went ahead and bought the Duet also. That was seven years ago and we both now attest to having a great washer/dryer and zero problems. My point is – if you need a reference on any product the last place to go to get it is the internet, because there are to many pedantic and nattering nabobs of negativity with a computer to get any good advice. Ask a friend. In this case ask an owner of an HS not Bengt.

DDS62

I just posted this on the Motorauthority.com site and they took it down. they allowed all of the other negative comments about the HS to stand but took down my post. LOL I guess discussion on objectivity isn't welcome there. Or perhaps Bengt simply didn't like being called out to the street.

nantang

I'm sick and tired of the bias in general against hybrids. Car enthusiast magazines seem to be very ego-driven, with focus on big engines, trucks, and muscle cars. Most people on a day-to-day basis want a car that gets them to and from work, grocery shopping, and the like. Those of us who do want high performance cars don't neccessarily long to go back to the early 1970s, before the gas shortages and ecological crises forced people to modernize. There may not be very many GS450h'es on the road, but in a few weeks, I'll be driving one.

TheAirman

It seems to have become very political also. With the word "Prius" having strong political overtones, with one side hating them and what they stand for.

But if everyone thought like you, America could become no more dependent on foreign oil, and people like Hugo, and countries like Iran would be begging us instead of giving us the finger.

nantang

Politics is definitely pervasive where hybrid technology is concerned. Notice how I'm treading carefully, trying to avoid setting off potential flame wars. But, it's very tempting to believe conspiracy theories that big oil companies don't want to see clean tech come to fruition, even though it's in their long-term interest, as long as their clientele depend so heavily on being existent.

FNFZ4

23000 prius in one month? wow