Now in its fifth generation, the Prius is finally sporty, but that may have been a mistake as Prius sales in 2024 are a fraction of what they used to be. #toyota #prius #toyotaprius #hybrid
My wife and I just did a 3000 mile trip with ours. 50 mpg average and very comfortable and competent on the highway. For a family it would be a bit cramped but for the two of us it was perfect .
Never mind the economy, and the Tech, buyers want this model just for the looks. But, most people can't (or won't), wait as long as it takes to find one and go elsewhere. We ordered a red one in 2022, a Pearl coloured unit landed 21 months later. We were told the day we collected our Prime that had we ordered one that day, the wait would be three years. That's a massive problem for Toyota. Bet we could sell ours for thousands more than we paid.
We ordered one and a half to wait months to get it period that's the reason that they're not selling as many it's limited by production notproduction not demand period
I think the real issue with the drop in Prius sales is availability. We got our 2024 Prime two months ago. It's our third Prius but first PHEV. However, we had to wait 21 months for it ! Not many would have accepted that length for delivery. We actually ordered a 2022. So, we ended-up paying for two Model Year price increases and, got $2,000 less for our 12 year old Model C then we bargained for at ordering. Mind you, we still got half of what we paid for it new. Not sure if the dealer was kidding, but they told us if we had ordered our new car the day we finally received it, the wait now is 3 years ! Not really good for sales. Final "insult"; we asked for the red colour but received the Pearl paint. Very nice colour when you take a close look (it's not actually white). However, the Pearl costs an extra $600 or so as it's considered a premium colour. We went through all the misery because the first two cars were near flawless over 16 years and 200,000Km. And oh, right now there's 2,100Km (1,312.5 miles), on the clock, and, there's still 1/3 of the dealers fill in the tank. How many cars can do 0-60 in 6.6 seconds and give that sort of economy.
I am in Canada and I would 'Like' to buy a Prius Prime, but there is a 3-year waitlist, and the Toyota dealers add something they call a '$2,000 Dealership Fee'. That 'Dealership Fee' is pushing so many people to buy from somewhere else instead of Toyota.
They positioned the Prius more niche, with the design as its selling point. Buyers who want the old idea of the Prius, can go to the Corolla Cross Hybrid.
