Toyota is reporting strong sales for September, with the Auris Hybrid and Yaris Hybrid performing well. But Prius sales are down.
Probably the star performer for Toyota was the new Yaris which saw sales increase by a massive 73 per cent compared to September 2011 and Yaris Hybrid sales accounting for 16 per cent of that number.
But that figure for the Yaris Hybrid is just the start as far as Toyota are concerned, and they expect hybrid Yaris sales to grow in the same way sales of the Auris Hybrid, which now accounts for 60 per cent of Auris sales.
But what has that big number of hybrid sales in ‘Regular’ Toyota models meant for Toyota’s hybrid star, the Toyota Prius?
It appears that Prius sales in the last year have dropped by 26 per cent as hybrid options have been rolled out across Toyota’s mainstream cars, but that was very much the expectation at Toyota.
The decision to launch the Yaris Hybrid in the UK instead of the Prius C was a clear indication that Toyota saw the future for hybrids as a mainstream option rather than one only wrapped up in a ‘Green Halo’ Prius.
So what of the future for the Prius? Will it now been consigned to the history bin as a pioneer car that is no longer relevant with hybrid powertrains becoming mainstream? Apparently not.
Toyota see the future for the Prius as a showcase for their latest technology, technology that can then float down in to mainstream Toyota offerings. For example, we’re likely to see the first Toyota Hydrogen car launch as a Prius Fuel Cell although, with Toyota’s scepticism about the viability of BEVs, we’re unlikely to see a Prius EV.
So as far as Toyota are concerned, the fall in sales of the Prius as the rise and rise of mainstream hybrids pushes forward is the price they expected to pay.
Which makes a lot of sense.
Have your say - leave a comment