2009/8/19 Jed Rothwell <[email protected]>: > The Yomiuri reports that Lexus hybrids are selling like hotcakes in Japan. > The car is back ordered until February next year, and selling at the rate of > about 10,000 cars per month. The paper notes that sales were predicted to be > 500 per month, "so the actual sales rate is 20 times the sales target, which > is a sign of the great popularity of hybrid cars." To say the least. The > Lexus hybrid, model HS25Oh, costs $37,500 in Japan. > > It seems to me this is good news for the GM Volt.
and for the planet at large! ... > I predict that the 2011 Yaris hybrid model, for $15,000 with 94 MPG, will > wipe out the market for gasoline-only compact cars. No auto company will be > able to sell a conventional compact after 2011. No gasoline-only car will > ever get anywhere near 94 MPG, and the only reason people buy these cars in > the first place is to save fuel costs. $15,000 is very reasonable cost for > any small car Excellent analysis, 2010 may well see the end of small gas cars! And the Yaris hybrid will be helped in this endeavour by the competitor it comes in response to, Honda's hybrid version of the Fit, announced for late 2010 at a similar price: http://www.canada.com/Life/Toyota+working+Yaris+hybrid+fight+hybrid/1431334/story.html?id=1431334 Competition is good! Michel PS Of course the future belongs to plugin EVs + smart bidirectional grid, not to hybrids, but it will take some time for many people to accept the idea of their car selling electricity to the grid ;-)
