This looks encouraging in numbers and in year to year % increase. What does it mean as a % of total car sales?

Too bad that we are being taken for a ride by Toyota in Canada, where the average going price for a Prius is $32000 CAN x 1.015 = $32400 USD versus south of the border price of about $22K USD. Nobody can account for the $10+ K (33%) difference.

Nearby USA dealers are not allowed to sell to Canadians 'cause they will lose their Toyota dealership.

This is a very particular application of the free trade treaty

On the other hand, it seems that we can buy a Nissan Altima Hybrid in the USA, for about $10K less than in Canada. The only penalty seems to be a delayed six (6) month non-guarantee period.

Whth the Canadian dollar approaching $1.02 USD, it is difficult to understand why the price of imported cars is the same or even higher than 2 years ago when the Canadian dollar = about $0.62 USD. Somebody must be making a huge profit somewhere in the distribution line.

Harvey, there's probably a lot of fat in the form of import duties and other taxes. You see the same kinds of price differentials with other vehicles made outside of North America.

The prius is made in Japan so it is not a NAFTA product.
That is not to say Canadians deserve the pricing considering the current strength of their currency. I did not compare for a CAD to YEN standpoint, and that may explain some of the discrepancy.

Any Canadian wishing to buy a Prius contact me. I will buy it for you as a US citizen.

Jack,

My wife's supervisor bought a Honda Ridgeline in the US for greater than $10,000 less than the dealer was selling it for in Canada. This truck is made in Alliston, Ontario, Canada! This cannot be explained by import duties as it is made in Canada.

My wife's supervisor bought a Honda Ridgeline in the US for greater than $10,000 less than the dealer was selling it for in Canada. This truck is made in Alliston, Ontario, Canada! This cannot be explained by import duties as it is made in Canada.

The Ridgeline came out in March 2005. At that time, a Canadian dollar was worth around US$0.80. Currently, a base Ridgeline in the US goes for about US$28K, and in Canada it goes for about Can$36K. At the exchange rate of March 2005, those are very similar prices.

I think the pricing reflects where it stood at the time of its release. It would make no rational sense for the company to decrease the price of the vehicle in the local currency.

Like another example: The Prius (II) net base price (w/o taxes) in europe is around 21600 (rised by 300 EUR since it's introduction in 2003); with the current USD/EUR exchange rate, that's about 30525 USD.

On top of that, sales tax and a mulitude of "environment" taxes (different per country) are applied, making the total somewhere between 38160 and 73760 USD for the base model (the latter in denmark, 388937 DKK)...

Note that the US spec Prius is more expensive to build, with the CHSS, 2nd catalyst and tank bladder, making it (much) cleaner than the EU spec Prius...

Jack & Miket1

On most (non Big-3) cars worth more than $20000 USD, the regular Canadian sale price (before sale taxes) is 33% to 48% more. It does not matter if the car is built in Canada, USA or Japan.

For Toyotas, the manufacturer fixes the sale price in our area and the sale price is not negotiable.

Units from the Big 3 are much more negotiable and closer to the USA price. A Dodge Caravan sells for about $18k CAN + sale taxes but a Toyota equivalent is $36k CAN + sale taxes. About the same differential exist on the US built Camry XLE and specially on the the Camry Hybrid.

Jack,

Your comment was regarding duties and taxes. Taxes are higher in Canada, but there are no duties as it is made in Canada.

It doesn't change the fact that the Ridgeline is currently a lot less to purchase in the US with the current exchange rate.

It doesn't change the fact that the Ridgeline is currently a lot less to purchase in the US with the current exchange rate.

Sounds like a nice little arbitrage opportunity.

Jack,

Indeed it is!

As an aside, some interesting economic questions are raised by the fact that in some cases international production chains are managed almost entirely within a single multinational corporation (roughly 40 percent of U.S. merchandise trade is classified as intra-firm) and in others they are built through arm's-length transactions among unrelated firms. But the empirical evidence in both cases suggests that substantial productivity gains can often be achieved through the development of global supply chains.