Earlier this year, Automotive News reported that consumers did not find hybrids appealing after numbers had shown that hybrid sales in the United States have slowed to 2.2 percent last year compared to 2.4 percent in 2010.
Now, Bloomberg has shared a new figure that throws everything out the window - the Toyota Prius is moving on up, sitting as the third best selling car in the world. 15 years ago, the Prius' appeal barely extended beyond a handful of curious early adopters. Now, thanks to a number of trends that shaped the current state of motoring, the Prius escaped its niche vehicle classification to a product with true universal appeal.
Strong demand in the United States as well as a $2,500 sales incentives in Japan helped massively to propel the hybrid's success. In the first three months, Prius sales have doubled to 247,230 units, only behind Ford Focus at 277,000 units and the long-time sales leader Toyota Corolla at 300,800 units.
In Japan alone, the Toyota Aqua (known as the Prius c in North America) is responsible for a tripling in Prius sales to 175,080 units. In total, the global Prius sales figure has increased by 125 percent. In fact, only last week did Toyota announce that total Prius sales have topped four million units.
No doubt, the Prius' sales success extends to Toyota as a whole. Of the top 10 models in the United States, Toyota fills the list with three of its vehicles as the Prius is joined by the Corolla and Camry sedans. What's more, the sales spike also allows Toyota to celebrate a return as the world's largest automaker as of Q1.
However, not everyone is optimistic on Prius' ability to maintain its strong sales. According to independent automotive industry analyst John Wolkonowicz, Prius sales will depend heavily on gas prices. As of May 22nd, US gas prices have averaged $3.68 a gallon, 6.6 percent lower than the $3.94 a gallon charge back in April 5th.
Wolkonowicz claims, "You're going to see hybrid sales drop again in U.S. as gas prices fall. Hybrid sales won't truly take off in the U.S. until we get to $5 gas and it stays."
