"Our dealers have already taken a huge number of orders, just on the word-of-mouth off of Prius," Clements said. "I think what we have, when you talk to our customers, is that there are a lot of very affluent people who would like to make a statement about Middle East oil; would like to make a statement about who they are; but don't want to make the sacrifices in terms of performance or luxury amenities. We think it's going to really resonate in the marketplace, but we will see what the market tells us."
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| Prices for the 400h haven't been released yet, but that hasn't stopped dealerships from taking pre-orders from eager customers. (Photo: Lexus) |
Toyota has not yet released prices for the Lexus RX 400h, nor is the company saying publicly what its production targets are. Yet, prices for hybrid vehicles are substantially more expensive than conventionally equipped vehicles--about USD $4,000-$6,000, according to analyst David Cole, president, Center for Automotive Research of Ann Arbor, Mich.
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| For regular consumers feeling the pinch of high fuel costs, will long-term fuel savings outweigh the extra initial cost of an HEV? (Photo: Lexus) |
"There are two issues that hybrids face as you look at trying to get higher volume production and achieve economies of scale," Cole said. "First, there is duality in the system--you still have an internal combustion engine, but then you have the electric drivetrain too. There are more parts in hybrid vehicles; more sophisticated parts in terms of the electronics and the hardware."
With fuel prices increasing substantially throughout North America, buyers may start looking to benefit in fuel savings when choosing their next vehicle. Whether the fuel factor alone will be sufficient to outweigh the additional cost per vehicle will remain to be seen. While a company can always charge a bit more for the uniqueness of a product and "early adopters," people who are willing to buy the latest technology at high costs just when it comes out, will want to purchase hybrids, you can't base your business entirely on selling to these people.