Prius Celebrates Ten Years In US; B&B: What Will Prius Sales Be In 2020?
Published: October 10th, 2010
Share
10-10-10 marks the tenth anniversary of the first Prius sold in the US. A total of 5800 of the pioneering hybrids were sold in that first year. North American sales peaked with 183.8k in 2007, and then drooped, and are pacing to 141k units in 2010.
Note how Japan’s Prius sales have boomed, surpassing NA, as a result of government incentives. What does the future hold for NA Prius sales in the next ten years?
More by Paul Niedermeyer
Comments
Join the conversation
Projecting strong future Prius sales at this stage - now that the oil bubble, the global warming mania, and government inducements are all over - is a bit like Disco Stu's prediction of future record sales based on 1976 trends. Past performance is definitely not guaranteed. That is not to say that fuel economy will go out of style... nor should it. But complex hybrid fashion accessories almost certainly will. The near-term future belongs to simplicity, downsizing, and more efficient ICE powertrains.
Prius has been riding the wave of popularity becuase of its brand recognition. Will that last? who's to say? Hybrids and the eventual successor electric vehicles are here to stay. They may be overly complex compared to other drivetrains, but that's comparing a new technology to a mature technology, and that's unfair. Anyone who's seen how VW's clean diesel engine systems work would probably agree than a hybrid is probably already simpler in construction and operation. people need to keep persepective; there was a time when fuel injection was impractical. there was a time when turbocharging was impractical. And let's not forget the wildly impractical Me262 jet fighter from WWII. It broke down all the time and wasted fuel. good thing those jet engines never caught on, eh?