2010 Plug-in Prius $47,000?

[Jason M. Hendler]

2012 Plug-in Prius $47,000?:

Link

I wonder if this article mistakes the Mitsubishi iMiEV for the Toyota Plug-In Prius. If this announcement is for real, you'ld think there would be more press about it.

Edit - it says 2012 plug-in, not 2010 ...

[Texas]

2012 Plug-in Prius $47,000?:

Link

I wonder if this article mistakes the Mitsubishi iMiEV for the Toyota Plug-In Prius. If this announcement is for real, you'ld think there would be more press about it.

Edit - it says 2012 plug-in, not 2010 ...

Don't overlook the politics. Toyota wants the world to know plug-ins are going to be expensive. They hope you will just decide to buy their proven and efficient normal Prius for a little more than $22 k and get great mileage. They make money on each and every unit and own the market with just about no competition.

They also what to inform politicians that subsidies are going to be needed to bring this technology to market.

Thus, Toyota has no desire to rush into the plug-in market. They will be ready when consumers are ready and will not let anyone overtake their market position. Until then, they are more than happy to sell you one of their profitable, refined hybrids. win-win for them.

[misslexi]

Japan should keep China closely watched in the rear-view mirror. Nothing is expensive once China gets a hold of it. Costly perhaps, but not expensive.

[mleskovar]

Don't overlook the politics. Toyota wants the world to know plug-ins are going to be expensive. They hope you will just decide to buy their proven and efficient normal Prius for a little more than $22 k and get great mileage. They make money on each and every unit and own the market with just about no competition.

They also what to inform politicians that subsidies are going to be needed to bring this technology to market.

Thus, Toyota has no desire to rush into the plug-in market. They will be ready when consumers are ready and will not let anyone overtake their market position. Until then, they are more than happy to sell you one of their profitable, refined hybrids. win-win for them.

I have to agree with this assessment. Cost is the biggest obstacle to the mass acceptance of electric cars and this announcement hopes to illuminate the problem. $47K will buy you a middle-of-the-line luxury brand, or pay for all your gas and still have money left over after 10 years (20k miles/year) if you buy a high mileage hybrid car. With emissions on the newer generation cars being so low I'm sure you could even say the environment would benefit as well with current hybrid technology vs. all electric. The "save us from foreign oil" mantra weakens considerably when you have to pay extra to achieve it.

[Jason M. Hendler]

Texas / meleskovar,

If, indeed, that is what Toyota is thinking, it is a flawed strategy in that the Chevy Volt will be $40K in 2010, and certainly cheaper in 2012, and the Aptera Type 2e is already offered in the $20K's, so it will be a hard case to make with evidence to the contrary.

[Texas]

Texas / meleskovar,

If, indeed, that is what Toyota is thinking, it is a flawed strategy in that the Chevy Volt will be $40K in 2010, and certainly cheaper in 2012, and the Aptera Type 2e is already offered in the $20K's, so it will be a hard case to make with evidence to the contrary.

Remember what Toyota did with the new Prius pricing when the Insight came out strong? Yup, it lowered the price to be competitive. Turns out the Insight is not that much of a competitor so they can probably jack up the price a bit.

Also, the Aptera executives said the price will be $20 - $40. Or, they have absolutely no idea at this point in time. Unless you have a new reference. Also, the Aptera is not in the same class as the Prius. You are saying that the GeoMetro is less expensive than a Cadillac. Well, yes. We knew that.

Thus, Toyota can always drop the price if and when it needs to, as they have shown willing and able to do. In fact, they can suffer massive profit loss from their plug-in program to gain marketshare. Who would win the price war there? GM or Toyota?

[Jason M. Hendler]

Also, the Aptera executives said the price will be $20 - $40. Or, they have absolutely no idea at this point in time. Unless you have a new reference.

No, they stated in the $20's for the Type 2e, and perhaps as high as in the $40's for the Type 2h.

Also, the Aptera is not in the same class as the Prius. You are saying that the GeoMetro is less expensive than a Cadillac. Well, yes. We knew that.

Um, you are talking as if the Prius is the Tesla Model S or the Fisker Karma - not even close. The Aptera Type 2e will take market share from the Prius, as the Type 2e is the ultimate commuter car.

Thus, Toyota can always drop the price if and when it needs to, as they have shown willing and able to do. In fact, they can suffer massive profit loss from their plug-in program to gain marketshare. Who would win the price war there? GM or Toyota?

That statement may have been true 1 years ago, but GM has restructured, while Toyota is now suffering massive losses. GM is accepting break even or losses on their initial Volt sales already, while Toyota refuses to place a bet on an E-REV right now, so they've ceeded that market to GM already - guess we do know the answer to that question .

[hermperez]

Its either:

a) a misprint

b) a Toyota ploy to remind people of the true cost of plug-in hybrids

c) this cost is only valid in Japan, with multi government rebates that distort the true price.. just look up the announced price of the Mitsubishi iMiev to see what I mean... I believe the iMiev has a $15k rebate from the Japanese gov.

either that or this is going to be one hell of a lithium pack for $25k

[omnimoeish]

either that or this is going to be one hell of a lithium pack for $25k

I agree. Even assuming that the Volt's battery pack is $16,000 for a 16kWh battery, Toyota would have to be putting in at least 25 kWh worth of batteries for that price (probably enough to take you 70 miles AER or something) and that's not even subtracting the cost of the NiMH that are now included in the regular $22,000 2010 Prius which probably cost $1,000.

70 miles is totally overkill. Toyota may be have many issues, but they are masterfully talented at goldieloxing (just right) their vehicle costs and features to gain maximum market penetration. Besides that, the vehicle would weigh way too much.

Or maybe Toyota is going to float the battery 40%-70% or something because they don't want people to see their batteries failing? That would yield some pretty hefty battery longevity. At that point, I would definitely recommend just using NiMH if it came to that.

Hypermilers going to have a hayday when he reads this. lol

[mleskovar]

Texas / meleskovar,

If, indeed, that is what Toyota is thinking, it is a flawed strategy in that the Chevy Volt will be $40K in 2010, and certainly cheaper in 2012, and the Aptera Type 2e is already offered in the $20K's, so it will be a hard case to make with evidence to the contrary.

The only strategy is to promote FUD about plug ins. Besides, even at $40k you can buy today's technology and still save enough money over a Volt to pay for your next ten years of gas and have money left over. They're just attacking the weakest point of the volt. Sort of "preemptive marketing".