2010 Prius posts 45% sales increase last month over previous year
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 7:56PM by Jeremy Korzeniewski
2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
Toyota is continuing to see impressive sales of its new 2010 Prius hybrid here in the United States. Though not quite as high as last month's 48-percent sales increase over the previous year, we're sure Toyota is plenty happy to see the 45.7-percent bump in August sales over the same month in 2008.
For those that like seeing actual number in black and white, Toyota sold 19,173 Prius hybrids here in the States in July and another 18,866 in August. It seems highly likely that Cash for Clunkers helped those figures a bit for both months, and the Toyota brand in total saw a sales increase of about 15 percent last month over the previous August.
We know that production of the 2010 Prius is capped by the availability of nickel metal hydride battery packs. Plus, Cash for Clunkers came to an inglorious conclusion before the month of September got started, so we are curious to see what Prius sales figures will look like for the rest of the year. Stay tuned.
[Source: Prius Chat]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt 8:04PM (9/02/2009)
The 2010 Prius was not sold last year.
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Rick 11:58PM (9/02/2009)
Now that I hear it's just a 2 % electric car (Elon Musk) the Prius has become even more boring to me. Just a homely little car with small wheels and a bunch of extra parts - and the red paint isn't really helping either. This car is crying out to be driven over by a tank.
... just calculated that with my driving habits I would save about 20 liters per month (about $25.) if I switched to a Prius instead of the Corolla - but then my car payment would have to be at least $100. more ... maybe $150 more
... you guys keep your extra parts and I'll keep the cash.
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EVdriver 6:36AM (9/03/2009)
You should switch to a bicycle and you would save even more. (Prius - Corolla, apples - oranges).
KM 7:20AM (9/03/2009)
For every THREE Prius commercials I see maybe ONE commercial from an American manufacturer.
Hell, I was caught by surprise when I saw my first Saturn commercial on TV since the mid 90s. Most of the commercials from US producers I've seen are from Ford, and it's nice to see they are FINALLY promoting the Fusion hybrid which I think is a great car and I wish was more price competitve with Prius.
Do any US automakers make anything to compete with the Prius? (price + performance + interior room) Cause I can't think of anything.
When Volt comes out it will more likely be competing with... what on price? I'm a huge fan of the Volt but it will be several orders more expensive than Prius and Fusion Hybrid as well.
Prius has a lot, a LOT of visibility and the huge advertising campaign helps, its performance numbers are good, its track record too, it deserves to sell well.
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SHANE FROM AUSTRALIA 9:49AM (9/03/2009)
Nearly 40 000 units in 2 months in the US market alone is impressive.
So much for the Volt which is nothing but useless hype from GM.
While GM achieves little more then just talk, Toyota on the other hand gets on with the job and comes up with results.
Way to go Toyota ... keep up the good effort
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Mirko 11:40AM (9/03/2009)
For comparison, in Germany they sold 549 Prii in July, compared to 243 in July 2008. So it's an even better relative improvement. However, they sold just 86 in May.
http://www.priuswiki.de/wiki/Zulassungen
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wincros 1:20PM (9/03/2009)
Well, duh.
New models always sell better than the last year of the old model if they are desirable at all. Here is a hint. Everyone knows they will have an instant old looking car if they buy before a model changeover. They are tired of looking at the old car. It will be worth a lot less at trade in. It is why manufacturers drop the price or offer other incentives. The last year model before changeover is undesirable.
The Honda Civic Hybrid sales went up 156% from 2005 to 2006. I suppose we should conclude that the Prius is a failure with only 45%. Of course that is not true, but it makes as much sense.
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Charlie 3:47PM (9/03/2009)
Was waiting for this.
If you recall we had an economic apocalypse this time last year and no one was buying nothing. The local Toyota had 26 Priii on the lot till....now?
Selling one more car this month increases sales % over last year by 45%...
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TIMMAH! 5:09PM (9/03/2009)
Wouldn't this be mainly attributable to the CARS (Cash for Clunkers) program that was in effect last month? I'll bet they don't see the same increase in next month's numbers...
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