Join the Revolution

Updated: December 06, 2006

Hybrid car sales: Toyota versus Honda

What is Toyota's advantage?

At one time, there wasn’t much difference between the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight. Most consumers really didn’t care about either one as hybrid cars were not yet on America’s radar screen.

The 2004 Toyota Prius; however, changed everything. The Prius was the first hybrid to perform as well as a conventional vehicle, while significantly reducing pollution and fuel efficiency. And, the Prius does it with style. For a $20,000 family sedan, the Prius is without rival in the world of hybrids.

Of course, Honda didn’t quit its hybrid foray with the Insight, adding both the Civic hybrid and the Accord hybrid - making Honda the first automaker to offer 3 hybrid cars for sale.

Today, Toyota is now selling more than 100,000 Toyota Prius hybrids every year, and they've added the Highlander hybrid, the Camry hybrid, the Lexus RX400h hybrid, and the Lexus GS 450h hybrid . While sales of the Highlander hybrid have never been nearly as robust as the Prius, the Camry hybrid has been one of the hottest hybrids.

Unfortunately, however, lower gas prices coupled with a 50 percent reduction in hybrid tax credits have taken a toll on Toyota's hybrid sales.

The second generation Civic hybrid has picked up some slack since the Prius hybrid tax reduction was reduced. The Accord hybrid, on the other hand, is just not selling, and now the Insight has been discontinued.

Still, even with reduced Toyota hybrid credits, the Prius is still easily out-selling the hybrid Civic.

So, why the big difference between Honda and Toyota hybrid sales? In one word, technology. The technology behind Toyota hybrids is a good bit more sophisticated than Honda hybrids. 

Not only can Toyota hybrids function solely on electric power at low speeds, but Toyota hybrids are a more direct step towards fuel cell vehicles than are Honda hybrids. This gives Toyota much more incentive to promote hybrids – which have been expensive to produce.

Already fuel cell developers have been calling on Toyota to develop plug-in hybrids because they would be the perfect platform for a smaller and cheaper fuel cell stack.

Honda hybrid cars, at this point in time, are more of an interim technology to Honda fuel cell cars, rather than a vehicle with a powertrain that can evolve into fuel cell vehicles, for Honda. 

This is Toyota's distinct and extremely important advantage.

For Toyota, every hybrid sale is another step, another investment, in Toyota’s vision of the automotive future. Today’s gasoline electric Prius, might be tomorrow’s diesel-electric Prius, hydrogen-electric Prius, plug-in fuel cell Prius, or a full fuel cell-electric Prius.

For Toyota, the future is already here.

   - ->  Blog / Comment on this

The Honda Accord Hybrid  Simply the best Accord.
Faster than a conventional Accord, the hybrid Accord is the first V6 hybrid and is shows. (more) (test drive)
The Honda Civic Hybrid The first converted hybrid vehicle
Looks like a Civic, drives a Civic, but at 50 mpg it gets 40 percent better gas mileage than a regular Civic. (more)
The Lexus RX400h Hybrid The world's most luxurious hybrid SUV.
Due out April 15, this hot hybrid has already received 11,000 down-payments  (more)
The Toyota Prius Hybrid   The hybrid car leader at just $20,000?
Simply an unbelievable piece of automotive technology. The future is here. (more) (test drive)
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid The first Toyota hybrid SUV is set to explode.
The hype around this hybrid SUV is huge and growing. Get in line now, you might be there a while (more)

We the people, must be the difference. Join the revolution, buy a hybrid car