March US auto sales prove that fuel efficiency matters. Congrats to Toyota!

BMW Group –1.4% at 28980 (3/06: 28,352)
Chrysler Group –8% at 206,435 (3/06: 216,412)
Ford Motor Co –12.24% at 264,975 (3/06: 291,146)
General Motors –7.7% at 349,867 (3/06: 365,375)
Honda America +7.3% at 143,392 (3/06: 128,806)
Nissan North America +3.9% at 111,119 (3/06: 103,095)
Toyota Motor Co. +7.7% at 242,675 (3/06: 217,286)
Volkswagen –19.3% at 17,355 (3/06: 20,730)

Toyota had a massive March in Canada as well (with hybrids selling well)

"TORONTO, April 3 /CNW/ - Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) today announced that the company enjoyed its best March ever, as both the Toyota and Lexus divisions reported record-setting sales. TCI sales of 18,262 in March were up 7.4% from a year earlier. This included 12,589 passenger cars, 6.5% above the total sales in March 2006. Meantime, TCI's sales of trucks and SUVs were up 9.3% versus a year earlier, at 5,673 vehicles.

- Toyota's flagship hybrid vehicle, the Prius, achieved a Best March Ever, with sales totalling 218 units - up 29.8% over March 2006.

- Toyota Camry sales of 2,660 units were up 35.5% over March 2006. 534 Camry sales in March came from Camry Hybrid. This represents almost one quarter of total Camry sales in March.

The Lexus RX 400h hybrid luxury SUV enjoyed strong sales of 80 units, up 5.3% from the previous year to set a new March record.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2007/03/c2074.html

Hey Xprize, I think they might have sold more than 218 units
of the Prius, if it was their Best March Ever. Can't believe
that the Hybrid Camry out sold the Prius 2 to 1. In the US
the Prius out sold the Hybrid Camry by close to 4 to 1. I think
you might have missed the #1 key entirely. Anyway, thanks for
the inside tip to the market figures. Oh, buy the way is that
AutoXprize 10 million or 110 million, I might get busy if it is
the latter amount, as I am a greedy fat American looking for a
quick buck, while its still worth something. Seems as though this "Middle East Oil Grab" isn't going to be the cakewalk that
my "Commander In Theif" told me it was going to be. Now that
Halliburton has skipped town, I am looking for something to do,
as they have taken the money and ran. By the way, you got gas money for my Hummer, that is, until I win the Xprize for figuring out a way to get 100MPG from this baby.

Ok, I'll ask the obvious question...why the sudden increase in sales?

Toyota has been ramping up production and is now offering incentives up to $2,000 below msrp to match other hybrids getting the tax credit and to move them.
They had been fighting supply issues of batteries etc.
looks like they have it worked out.
Also new of Prius having top resale figures has had time to sink in.

Sadly, I see by reading Toyota's official March Sales tallies at their website that they have a distance to go before they can sell more Hybrids then gas guzzlers. If you look at their numbers, you'll see:

Tundra: 13,196 units
Sequoia: 2568 units
FJ Cruiser: 6057 units
4 Runner: 9052 units
Land Cruiser: 222 units

I give Toyota credit for offering the great hybrids that they do, but am frustrated when I see them pushing nothing but their big new Tundra all of the time. I can't pick up a magazine or watch a TV show without seeing one of their Tundras plastered there. But where are the Prius advertisements? Toyota, (and other Automakers too), have a good opportunity now to push their gas efficient vehicles with the price of U.S. gas being high. Let's watch and see, I bet Toyota will stick with the Tundra ads.

Where are Toyota's Hybrid Trucks? Oh yeah they don't have any, and are not even talking about improving their dismall truck fleet fuel rating.

The Prius sold so well because of the incentives being offered and the cut on April 1st in federal tax credits. It makes me feel cautious about next months numbers, despite the increase in gas prices.

Schmeltz - prior to the Tundra launch, Toyota ran a significant TV campaign for their three hybrids, which I believe was their most significant hybrid campaign to date. Of course, they want to make money, and the truck segment represents a huge opportunity for them to do just that. The Tundra ads show what market research indicates is important to truck buyers; gas mileage is conspicuously absent. We can hope that Toyota will improve the fuel efficiency of its trucks over time, regardless of what the marketplace seems to want, but I am not counting on it. They provide great products for those of us who place a high priority on fuel consumption and emissions, but I still expect them to act like a corporation, pursuing profit first and foremost.

I latched on to TMO's post in that, "Where are Toyota's Hybrid Trucks?" I was a little suprised when Toyota introduced their new Tundra, and a hybrid version wasn't even mentioned. They could be working on one, but I haven't heard of anything in that direction. What a statement they could have made as a corporation if they would've offered a 20-30 mpg Hybrid, Full-size Pick-up!

Realistically, the most fuel could be saved on gas guzzler trucks.

Toyota, how about an E85 hybrid truck?

Toyota only sold 218 Priuses in all of Canada? And that's their best March ever?

That's pathetic

Tundra with high-mileage, low emission diesel makes more sense to me than hybrid.

According to this page, 748 units of Saturn-Vue was sold in 2007-02 which is quite good.

http://www.hybridcars.com/market-dashboard/feb07-us-sales.html

GM should come out openly on Hybrids.

Being in 4th year, Prius is still shattering records
and now its #3 in Toyota's sales.
At this rate, it will hit million mark soon.

Another significant trend in Mar is the top 4 SUV's by sales were actually CUV's. CR-V, Pilot, RAV-4 and Escape were ahead of Explorer / Tahoe.

Both Seuqoia and 4-Runner suffered serious sales declines. Seems gas prices are biting everyone and Tundra will also fall soon.

Gentlemen:

Place your bet (and your money) on the Prius III or the 10+ other Toyotas using similar drive trains in 2009/10.

Will the quick charge Prius PHEV version come out in 2009 or 2010?

Toyota's fast growing technology lead (quality, reliability and sales) is something that the other car/light trucks manufacturers will have to deal with.

Toyota will make anything people want, and do a good job of it! The reason you haven't seen hybrid pickups has to do with towing capacity, it's more difficult to do than a sedan like the Prius. I suspect larger Li-ion batteries will make this more practical in the near future, stay tuned!

Starting in the fall, Toyota will be watching GM..
You will be able to buy a Tahoe with Cyclinder deactivation (ability to run on 4 cylinders at Highway speeds) a two mode hybrid [boost beyond 35mph unlike Toyota's] transmission that will pull anything from your Labrador retreiver to your boat. The vehicle will save hugh amounts of fuel relative to a non hybrid Tahoe and espcially considering the variance between a 4 cylinder civic vs a hybrid. Its carbon footprint is reduced also as a bonus! This is the part for Al Gore!!

I did my part for Toyota sales with my new Hybrid Camry---love the car. I am averaging around 40.5 mpg on my daily 210 mile drive. Still trying to get the mpg higher as I slighty change my driving habits. I would buy a diesel Tundra in a second.

neptune: I tried on a Camry at a local green trade show. Nice car. Is a 210 mile daily commute normal where you live?!?

Neil, I do not think a 210 commute is normal anywhere. A job transfer along with wife in school forced my hand into a long drive.

Toyota doesn't seem to be interested in selling hybrids in Canada. The MSRP of the Prius is $31,280 vs. $31,900 for the Hybrid Camry. A Matrix or Corolla MSRP is about $20,000. The Civic Hybrid MSRP is $26,250.

Canadians have traditionally bought their efficiency in smaller packages than US car buyers.

EG. in February, Canadians bought 3x more Yaris hatchbacks per-capita than Americans. Americans bought 3x more Priuses than Canadians the same month (per-cap): http://tinyurl.com/2m6ego

I read just this AM that the sub-compact market accounts for 50% of new car sales here.

Why? Higher fuel & income taxes (relatively less disposable income to spend on cars), and cultural differences (e.g. a national Green Party near 10% in recent polls). March saw the debut of a federal rebate program rewarding fuel efficient car purchases & taxing guzzlers.

I'm averaging 48mpg with my 2002 VW bio-not-war fuel burner. It has no batteries, less parts, and better fuel efficiency than a Toyo. I've owned several Toyo pickups an d none had an engine that purred like a TDI.

randy, don't forget the emissions coming out of your car, even with biodiesel. and to be honest, getting 48 mpg in an HSD Prius isn't something to be proud of.
and no engine purrs like an electric motor.

Re: Pathetic Canadian sales of the Prius.

Canadian Prius sales are pathetic for one main reason: high prices. Base Prius in Canada retails for C$31280, or $27166 in US money. That's about $5000 US more than the US base model Prius. The Canadian Camry hybrid, by contrast, retails for about the same as the Prius. Hence it sells better. New federal incentives in Canada should benefit all hybrids but the Camry hybrid is by far the better value in Canada as is the Honda Civic hybrid (about C$26000).