Toyota to Launch Overpriced Plug-in Prius in 2012: $48,000 for a Minor Upgrade
Over the holiday weekend, Japanese news daily Nikkei reported that Toyota will start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
The plug-in Prius will have a reported all-electric range of 12.4-18.6 miles after a full charge, and will cost $48,000—roughly twice the price of the regular gasoline-hybrid Prius.
Considering that a used Prius can be converted into a plug-in hybrid today for less than $15,000—giving the car the same or better statistics and driving range—I’d have to ask: what the hell is Toyota thinking?
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About a year ago, it seemed that the big players on the plug-in hybrid/electric scene would emerge in 2010, and would consist of Toyota, Tesla, Fisker, and GM. Toyota had a major advantage: the Prius is already built and the plug-in conversion plans were already outlined by DIY fanatics. Additionally, it looked like Toyota was the only contender that could produce an affordable car that every day consumers would consider more-or-less normal.
Many have already expressed outrage at the cost of the fully-electric Tesla Roadster ($110,00), and even the Chevy Volt, which is expected to launch around $40,000. But for $8,000 less, you get twice the car: the Volt will get double the range (40 miles all electric).
Perhaps Toyota is satisfied with owning the gasoline-hybrid market (they’ve already expressed doubts about the concept of plug-in hybrids) and seems willing to hand over this new market. Whatever the motive, the company will build about 20-30,000 plug-ins in 2012, and will be quietly leasing 500 test plug-ins in late 2009 to government and corporate fleets.
[Source: Reuters]
what is toyota thinking. I though they making the plug in hybird with 10 mile all electric range to not jack up the price too much.
Are they fking kidding me??? Their are do it yourself kits out there that will cost less then what they have advertised. This must be a mistake.
It is amazing that Toyota appears to be making the same mistake that others have made by ignoring hybrids and fuel efficiency in general.
Tesla’s Model S will start at $49,900 and ship in 2011. Some specs they announced:
- 300 mile range
- 45 minute QuickCharge
- 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
- Seats 7 people
- More cargo space than sedans
- 2X as efficient as hybrids
- 17 inch infotainment touchscreen
Perhaps Toyota will get back on track — in the past they have shown a good deal of intelligence as a company. But for now you are right, Clayton — what are they thinking?
Hey David, the Tesla Model S is $57,400 without the $7,500 Federal tax credit. I’ve posted all the other numbers without that.
Toyota is right. They’ll find 20-30k idiots who have no concept of value. Most of that will be to government fleets. They don’t care what they pay for anything. Remember $1000 toilet seats?
By the time production ramps up to consumer mass scale, the price will come down to earth.
I’m either going to need a raise, or I’m going to have to rely on Hundai or the like to show what can be built sensibly.
What about the Ford fusion Hybrid? Has anyone made a plug in on this ride yet? What happened to the long lasting litho batteries? Why doesn’t one of our smart engineers come up with a self recharging battery so you would not have to put an extra load on our already stretched grid system?…Have we lost all of our creative genius in this country?…Maybe we should let some of our high school kids solve the problem…
Blogmeire: You’re on the right track, though I suspect the number of idiots is higher. I went to try to test drive a Prius, because I’d never driven one. Problem one, they wouldn’t let me (not so much a problem, they did only have one 2010 left on the lot after all). Problem two, they wanted $5k over MSRP for one in ugly gold. That’s $34k for a Prius. It was a pretty loaded Prius, but not THAT loaded. They had already sold the other 4 (I think it was) they got in their first allotment, probably at close to $5k over sticker.
Contrast this to the second Honda store I visited (the first had a dead battery issue). Test drove one, and they sounded like I would have paid MSRP, or perhaps a bit less. And it was a nice little car.
More details: http://maxhedrm.montebellopark.com/blog/index.php/2009/06/27/shopping
For that kind of money, I’d rather have the new Tesla sedan.
My guess, the cost is to cover a battery that has to last the entire life of the car. Last time I checked, the retrofit kits had warranties good for only two or three years.
Cars are mostly about status. This one will have very high status and will be snapped up by the wealthy as a status symbol, which is all high-end cars really are.
It will usher in competition to bring the price down. We have to face the fact that although battery technology is finally technically feasible it is not economically feasible.