SALES OF THE PRIUS C in the USA

Before I decided to buy a Prius rather than a C, I took a look at several C models. There are a couple things I see that might be causing the decline.

1] The C hasn't significantly changed since the 2012 introduction. Unless a buyer insists on a new car, there isn't a ton of reason to buy a 2017 vs. a 2014, and they depreciate quickly.

2] (and the reason I went with a regular Prius) A new C is around $20k. The same $20k gets you a heckuva nice 2-year-old Prius with low miles. Aside from the (very slightly) higher MPG of a C, there's little to recommend it over a used Prius - the regular Prius is an all-around better car.

But these are just one man's opinions.

 

they either need a major revamp, or a plug in.

 

Not that surprising I would think.

I can't recall having seen an advertisement on TV (or anywhere else) for the Prius C in a very, very long time. On the other hand, I see commercials for the Honda Fit daily...

 

But the regular Prius is so ugly.... lol

 

3 reasons for that:
Gas price
Gas price
and
Gas price

Well, and some govt. tax rebates expired too.

Sales of gas guzzlers is UP.
More people have jobs now.

 

Like the wagon Prius v, it is hard to know if the sales decline is due to Toyota holding back on supply and marketing and updates. I just had 2 neighbors buy the v.

 

I have never looked at the C, there is more competition in hybrids today too. Lots of reasons for fewer sales. JMO

 

Most 5 year old platforms don’t sell well.

Overdue for a refresh just like th V,

Toyo should have sync’d up their PRII platform changes better than they did,

If the v would have relaunched this last year for example as a plug in ( even with a small battery)
I bet it would have continued selling better.

Ah well

 

Out here we call them UAV’s (urban assault vehicles) and the new car lots always have more coming in.

I see a fair bit of c’s on my commute, but there is a higher population of varying BEV’s, PHEV’s and hybrids now. Competition is stiff and to not update the platform in 7 model years puts the c at a competitive disadvantage .

But those that have them like them.

 

The regular Prius is a bit more reliable, according to Consumer Reports. Any thoughts ?

 

I always thought owning a prius was more than just gas prices, like doing your part to fight global warming , pollution, etc....

 

Sales approach for 4th Gen Prius is very different here: comparing to 2010 when we bought. The lot was littered with Prius.

Sales seemed to progressively peter in subsequent years, and now with fourth gen, at least with our nearby dealership, you have to pre-order. They have one demo on the lot.

 

welcome!

toyota indented prius to reduce emissions. other reasons for buying are invented by car shoppers. saving money at $2.50 a gallon has become a lost art.

 

If only they knew what they were saying. The Prius C has shown to be far more reliable than any other Prius.

 

Can you elaborate more? I have a Prius and a Prius C, would like to know more about the reliability of Prius C, which has not been discussed as extensively as for the regular Prius.

 

The Prius C has a few improvements, like the flat wire stators, these can have more current flow through them, and have more torque, the ICE also does not suffers from oil burning, like the Prius from the same year [2012] seems to.

 

It’s unfortunate the 1.5 did not stay the goto motor for all standard PRII as it was more robust than the 1.8, especially in the plug in version.

with the plug in and lithium Gen IV, the power argument falls flat as they could tune the 1.5 for better FE and add a more powerful “battery assist “ while keeping the more reliable 1.5.

Also of interest the 1.5 Gen II had a higher maximum fuel economy in low speed pulse and glide as compared to the 1.8 which had better highway, the advancements in motor and battery tech mean they could likely get the same gas HP as the 1.8 out of the 1.5 and actually get better low speed economy with the 1.5 as compared to the 1.8

ah well, not the direction they have been going, having a 1.5 may have motivated them to be getting more weight out of the design also.

 

Indeed, but it would be good enough if the new Toyota Aqua starts being sold in the USA.