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Over the past several months, General Motors has been trotting out its new full-size hybrid SUVs at every press preview and auto show telling us all about how great they are. More recently the automaker told us that the official fuel economy ratings from the EPA had come in at an impressive 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. The one thing GM has declined to discuss, however, was how much the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid was going to cost the consumer. Until now that is. The Two-Mode hybrid Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon now have their official MSRPs, with the rear-wheel-drive Tahoe hybrid starting at $50,490. At the high end, the all-wheel-drive GMC Yukon tips the price scales at $53,775. So far we don't have an exact standard equipment list for comparison against the regular 5.3L SUVs, but a rough estimate would put one of those in the mid to upper $40,000 range, leaving a price premium of probably $3,000 to 4,000 for the hybrid power-train. Given the likely cost of the upgrade, it looks like GM is definitely not passing along the true cost of the hybrid technology to the customer. Once hybrid tax credits are factored in, the bottom line to the customer may well turn out to be almost the same, which ain't bad when you consider the fuel savings.
* Tahoe Hybrid (2WD): $50,490
* Tahoe Hybrid (4WD): $53,295
* GMC Yukon Hybrid (2WD): $50,945
* GMC Yukon Hybrid (4WD): $53,755
[Source: General Motors]
Over the past several months, General Motors has been trotting out its new full-size hybrid SUVs at every press preview and auto show telling us all about how great they are. More recently the automaker told us that the official fuel economy ratings from the EPA had come in at an impressive 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. The one thing GM has declined to discuss, however, was how much the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid was going to cost the consumer. Until now that is. The Two-Mode hybrid Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon now have their official MSRPs, with the rear-wheel-drive Tahoe hybrid starting at $50,490. At the high end, the all-wheel-drive GMC Yukon tips the price scales at $53,775. So far we don't have an exact standard equipment list for comparison against the regular 5.3L SUVs, but a rough estimate would put one of those in the mid to upper $40,000 range, leaving a price premium of probably $3,000 to 4,000 for the hybrid power-train. Given the likely cost of the upgrade, it looks like GM is definitely not passing along the true cost of the hybrid technology to the customer. Once hybrid tax credits are factored in, the bottom line to the customer may well turn out to be almost the same, which ain't bad when you consider the fuel savings.
* Tahoe Hybrid (2WD): $50,490
* Tahoe Hybrid (4WD): $53,295
* GMC Yukon Hybrid (2WD): $50,945
* GMC Yukon Hybrid (4WD): $53,755
[Source: General Motors]
Lexus Champion
SUV and trucks by default have a lot more profit margin built into them than cars. So if GM wanted to 'eat' a lot of the expense of the 2-mode hybrid system (which is pretty expensive!) by reducing their profit then they could and still could make money. Why would they do this? Because they're trying to change their public image when it comes to how 'green' they are.
Despite the fact that your average non-hybrid Toyota doesn't tend to get much if any better mileage than its closest GM competition... the public has a perception that GMs are gas guzzlers and Toyotas are fuel sippers. Toyota also has a much more dominant name established in the hybrid market. So again, GM is looking to change that, even if it means reducing their profit margins on their typically very profitable SUVs.
With that said those prices still sound a bit high unless the hybrids are coming almost fully loaded by default, in which case they're quite a bargain so long as you were already planning on getting a loaded Tahoe anyway and now you're just considering the hybrid vs non-hybrid. As mentioned, factor in tax credits and it might almost be a no-brainer!
Despite the fact that your average non-hybrid Toyota doesn't tend to get much if any better mileage than its closest GM competition... the public has a perception that GMs are gas guzzlers and Toyotas are fuel sippers. Toyota also has a much more dominant name established in the hybrid market. So again, GM is looking to change that, even if it means reducing their profit margins on their typically very profitable SUVs.
With that said those prices still sound a bit high unless the hybrids are coming almost fully loaded by default, in which case they're quite a bargain so long as you were already planning on getting a loaded Tahoe anyway and now you're just considering the hybrid vs non-hybrid. As mentioned, factor in tax credits and it might almost be a no-brainer!