Toyota hybrids sell briskly in February; Prius sets all-time monthly record
It was only last month that analysts feared Toyota Prius sales had seen its best days. A combination of tax credits going away, no more HOV-lane stickers in California and stable gas prices led to a comfortable supply of Priuses. For some dealers, it was the first time that the prospective Prius shoppers didn't have to go on a waiting list. The topic of incentives even surfaced.
But Prius buyers turned out in record numbers in February, grabbing up an all-time high of 12,227 units. That was more than double the sales in February 2006. In fact, all Toyota hybrids scored impressive numbers. For the first two months of the year, total Toyota hybrid sales are up 67 percent over the same period last year. February hybrid sales were up 92 percent over last February.
Follow the break for the full report from Toyota
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[Source: Toyota Motor Sales]
"Sales were brisk at both ends of our product lineup," said Jim Lentz, TMS executive vice president. "Setting an all-time record, the Prius hybrid led the way, nearly doubling last February's sales pace; while the new full-size Tundra got off to an impressive start since hitting showrooms February 5th."
The Toyota Division posted best-ever February sales of 164,812, up 13 percent. The Lexus Division reported best-ever February sales of 22,518 units, an increase of 6.6 percent.
Toyota Division
Toyota Division passenger cars recorded best-ever February sales of 106,429, up 21.1 percent over the same period last year. Passenger car sales were led by Camry, which posted February sales of 32,148, up 17.5 percent over the same period last year. Camry Hybrid reported sales of 3,332 units in February. The Prius hybrid gas-electric mid-size sedan posted all-time best-ever sales of 12,227, an increase of 87 percent. The Yaris subcompact posted sales totaling 5,702 units for the month. Corolla reported February sales of 28,321, an increase of 12.9 percent.
Toyota Division light truck sales were up 2.4 percent, with a best-ever February total of 80,901 units. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), which reported best-ever February sales of 11,643, up 5.2 percent over the same period last year. The all-new Tundra full-size pickup reported sales of 9,669. The Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined February sales of 9,368, up 3.7 percent over the same period last year. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported sales of 1,892 units for the month. FJ Cruiser reported February sales of 5,040 units.
Scion posted February sales of 8,956 units. The tC sports coupe led the way with February sales of 4,366 units. Scion xB posted sales of 2,868 units for the month.
Lexus Division
Lexus passenger cars reported best-ever February sales of 13,491 units, an increase of 27 percent over February 2006. Passenger car sales were led by the ES 350 luxury sedan with best-ever February sales of 5,286 units, up 64 percent. The all-new LS 460 reported sales of 2,423, an increase of 138.7 percent.
Lexus Division light trucks reported February sales totaling 9,027 units with the RX 350 and RX 400h reporting combined February sales of 7,086 units. The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,249 units for the month.
TMS calendar-year-to-date hybrid sales totaled 31,933 units, an increase of 67 percent over the year-ago. In February, TMS posted sales of 18,860 hybrid vehicles, up 92 percent over last February. Toyota Division posted sales of 17,451 hybrids, up 90 percent over the same period last year, while the Lexus Division posted sales of 1,409 hybrids.
There were 24 selling days this sales month and last February.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 10:19PM (3/10/2007)
YAAAYYYY!!! Every time I see a prius I say, "A PrIuS!!!"
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Lithous 9:17AM (3/12/2007)
I've seen $2500 cash back in my area on the Prius and on eBay I've seen invoice pricing so it isn't surprising. Interesting how when sales were down for 2006 over 2005 that Toyota ramped up production about 50% very U.S. domestic like of them.
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redcars 4:22PM (3/21/2007)
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer
The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate 'green car' is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.
The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?
You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius's EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.
However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn't be writing this article. It gets much worse.
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius' battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist's nightmare.
"The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside," said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn't end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce 'nickel foam.' From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?
Wait, I haven't even got to the best part yet.
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius's arch nemesis.
Through a study by CNW Marketing called "Dust to Dust," the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.
The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.
So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.
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Chris M 6:55PM (3/21/2007)
Redcars, are you going to post that completely bogus totally discredited "Prius vs Hummer" article every time the Prius is mentioned? Suffering from Prius envy, no doubt.
Must hurt to realize the Prius is a smashing success, outselling the Hummer by a wide margin every year that it has been on the market. Indeed, the Prius has always outsold the entire Hummer line (H1, H2, H3 and SUT) since its introduction!
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