"Reported sales of hybrids in the US in November rose 82% year-on-year to reach 33,233 total units, representing 2.8% of all light-duty vehicles sold during the month.
Total light-duty vehicle sales in the US dropped 1.6%."
An 82% increase in hybrids while total sales dropped slightly shows a very encouraging trend.

"Sales of the Highlander Hybrid were back up after a slump for several months to 2,577 units—an increase of 55% from November 2006 and representing 20.9% of all Highlander models sold."
Sounds like Toyota was accurate when it said the slump was due mainly to supply side issues.
Hybrids being 20% of Highlander sales suggests that at least some SUV buyers are influenced by fuel consumption.

These figures make me wonder what could be achived with appropriate incentives in place
- GHG tax on all fossil fuels
- modest gasolene tax (funding PATP ins)
- feebate on new car sales based on CO2
- annual registration fees based on CO2
- incentives for hybrid R&D
- think of some more incentives

Polly,

Yes, IMO the numbers reflect availability more than consumer demand. One of those November Prius's was mine. I went to the Honda dealer to test drive the Civic Hybrid; they had exactly zero cars on the lot. If they made more they'd sell more.

The Toyota dealer had 8-10 Prius's, and I was able to pay less than MSRP. It's encouraging to see that Toyota now seems able to meet demand.

Lastly, I also own a 4Runner. I'll drive it a lot less now that we've got the Prius, but when it's replaced it will be with a hybrid, likely a Highlander. Some SUV drivers don't care about fuel economy, but I think most do.

Polly
The French and the Finnish are soon introducing a feebate system based on CO2 emissions with cars. To quote a story from AutoblogGreen “In France beginning at the start of 2008, any vehicle that emits more than 160 g/km of carbon dioxide will be charged a tax ranging from €200 up to a maximum of €2,600 for vehicles that emit of 250 g/km. Cleaner cars that put out less than 130 g/km will get €200 back with rebates increasing to a maximum of €1,000 for cars like the Smart and VW Polo BlueMotion that produce less than 100 g/km.”

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/12/05/france-introduces-co2-tax-and-rebate-system-for-new-cars/

It is going to be very interesting to see how efficient this system is in changing the buying behavior towards less polluting vehicles that also help to reduce oil dependence. I think the effect will be large and much larger than a tax on fuel that involved a comparable amount of tax money over the lifetime of a car as this lump sum fee.

Two of those hybrids (his and hers Priuses) are going to a neighbor of mine who is trading in a like-new Scion tC and a 3- or 4-year old Nissan Quest minivan.

He's an engineer with three kids. He did the math, looked at his kids and thought about their future, and then signed a couple of sales contracts.

Too bad we can't get more people to stop everything else they're doing and pay attention to energy and environmental issues for about 15 minutes. That's all it would take to start a stampede of customers toward the nearest hybrid dealers.

I have always felt hybrid sales are driven more by supply. The demand is higher then the supply. If they produced 25% more hybrids next month they would sell them. Maybe not double but the demand still exceeds the supply. These cars simply do not build up on the lots.

The first hybrids to languish on the lots might be the GM models. Of course I think they will sell because the salespeople want to sell a $50k SUV and make a fat commission.

Hi Bernard,

The Prius battery uses nickel and caustic soda. These are not nearly as hazardous a lead and sulphuric acid in standard car battey. Indeed, nickel is also used to make eating stainless steel utensils, and caustic soda to make soap.

Think about that when your in the shower in ten years, washing with recycled Prius battery electrolyte soap, and eating breakfast with recycled Prius electrodes forks.

@Bernard comments,
Where did this stuff come from?
Toyota still has a $200 dollar bounty for all used battery packs as far as I know, so they are taking them in. The battery in the Prius has a phone number to call to Toyota's disposal program. Both Honda and Toyota have recyling programs in place. People are stealing catalytic converters for a lower price for the metal in them.

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environment/recycle/battery/index.html

Nickel is a usefull and valuable metal, in very short supply, which can be and is recycled. There was an article here in GCC, where a Japanese firm was testing a method of cryogenic breaking up and recovery of battery material that recovered 99% of the useful material. All batteries need to be recycled. What about the regular Pb-acid ones in cars? Why just concentrate on the ones in hybrids?

As for the TSB's and silent recalls. I've only remembering one recall for the Prius. It keeps being in the lists of better made cars. For the rest, just heresay. Let's see an actual article of proof on its quality. According to Consumer Reports the payback for the orginal NAm Prius is under 4 years with gas at $2/gallon the first 2 years $3 the third and $4 the fourth. What's the price of gas now?

According to an MIT lifecycle study, 80-85% of a vehicles pollution comes from the actual driving. If you have to drive and drive the average american amount (~10 500 miles/year) and plan on keeping it at least 4 years, getting a Prius will be a better choice.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2004/fcvt_fotw306.html

@Chris,
The logic in the cars take care of recharging to optimize life. They are warrenteed 8-10 years, 150-200 thousand km. If they fail before that, then they get replaced at the manufacturers' cost. The batteries are not a long term energy storage solution and are not meant to be. They are for storage of braking energy and for use in boosting acceleration. In the Prius, they are only 6.5Ah, I believe. According to EPA testing, after 100000km, they have only 40-50% of their original capacity but the mileage doesn't really drop all that much in the PDF that I saw. Why? Because of the way it's being used. In any case, even by the time it fails, you can bet that the costs of any replacement would have dropped dramatically.

http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_Battery_Specs

As usual, even after seven years since first Hybrid was sold in the US, there are STILL a lot of myth and misinformation about hybrids.

At least the good news is that more and more people are owning hybrids and the usual BS that get posted in the comments will eventually get overwhelmed.

Aym

Thanks for the answer and the link. My question wasn't meant critical at all. I just wanted to know whether there will be even more demand for batteries from such replacements. Like hampden wireless I suspect that supply, especially supply of batteries is the bottleneck factor here. While you can recycle the nickel in the batteries you can't yet recycle the lanthanium. China controls 95% of the available lanthanium (that's why GM goes to china now to produce hybrid cars) and their production can barely match the local demand.

Jack Lifton from Resource Investors wrote a good trilogy about rare earth recently. I think it's a good read.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=16618

Bernard,

You better re-check your numbers as you are FAR off the mark (on price)!

Prius has standard ABS, EBD & traction control which all require option C on a Corolla LE + automatic tranny gives a base price of roughly $18,000 to get similar equipment as the Prius or a $2900 difference. Stop cherry picking facts that don't line up just because you want to try to reinforce your point...I can do the same "cherry picking" tactic as follows:

Prius has more shoulder room than Corolla and Matrix.
Prius has more hip room than Corolla and Matrix.
Prius has more leg room than Corolla and Matrix.
Prius has 6 cubic feet more passenger volume than Corolla.
Prius has more luggage capacity than Corolla.

Yet I didn't specify if I meant front space, rear space, or both...but I cherry picked whatever facts I wanted to without lieing to reinforce the point I was trying to make. See how fun this can be?

Bernard is either a troll or just ignorant.

His claims about batteries are just WRONG, and comparing a Prius to a Corolla isn't right either. Ever tried fitting 2 people and 3 bikes inside a Corolla? NOT happening.

Sounds like a bad case of Prius envy. Try it sometime, and you might change your tune.

As for the TSBs...most apply to early 2004 models - it's normal for a new car to have extra issues. But do the TSBs mean it really has problems, or is Toyota fixing things preemptively under warranty to keep their customers happy?
Besides, Toyota pays dealers nicely for TSB/warranty work. A good mechanic can do jobs much faster than what they are typically listed as, so why is the mechanic complaining? Maybe he's not happy because after 20 years of doing the same things, he has to learn a few new thing about hybrids and doesn't like it.

Bernard,

You are still putting out false information.

Pimped up Corolla? So standard equipment doesn't apply in your cost calculations? It is obvious you have no bearing on marketing/sales or Engineering of any type.

Now if they were from two different manufacturers and one were trying to get you to buy their car with more standard equipment at the same price...that would be different.

Hello, my name is Bernard and I prefer to compare apples and oranges because I do not know any better. A Corolla is a much better deal than a Porsche Turbo Carrera because look: The Corolla saves you $200 per horsepower purchased. Therefore, I can just go down the dragstrip or Laguna Seca 2 times to every 5 times you go around and get a better payback. Isn't it obvious that buying the sporty suspension and more powerful engine (XRS) for the Corolla is just pimping it up to try to match the performance of the Porsche? Obviously the dollar to horsepower ratio is much better in the Corolla. Look at me! Look at me!

JamesEE - you say that a lot of SUV drivers care about fuel economy. I think the problem (for some of them, at least) is that there are no options that provide significantly better fuel economy than an SUV, right now. Sure, you can get 40 mpg rather than 20 mpg if you switch to a Prius (depending on where you drive), but if you like your SUV, that might not be enough the justify the switch.

Once there are PHEVs and full EVs out, though, the advantages will be huge. I see at least a few 100 mpg plus PHEVs coming out in the next few years and at least one realistic replacement for an SUV in the form of a full EV coming out in the next few years. A switch from $80 fill-ups once a week to $40 fill-ups once a month or $2 charges once a week could make a HUGE difference for SUV drivers like that.