Prius prices trending lower
In Hybrid sales primed to take off claims hybrid king, I discussed how Toyota North American President, Jim Lentz, is expecting a surge in Prius sales in November and into 2012.
Overall, Lentz claims that Toyota hybrid supplies have finally recovered and the Prius family is expanding -- the Prius V is now available. That alone, Lentz seems to believe, is enough to restore the hybrid sale's slump experienced in 2011.
But the real wild card in 2012 is higher gasoline prices according to Lentz.
Nevertheless, Lentz stated that Toyota is more aggressively pursuing Prius sales and the latest data from Truecar does seem to suggest that Prius prices are trending downwards as the company strives for greater sales.
For instance, in last week's Buying a New Or Used Toyota Prius hybrid, we found the best Prius price to be $22,295. Today, the best price has dropped to $22,244. That's more than $1,000 below invoice, and almost $600 below dealer cost.
Now does appear to be a great time to buy a Prius and we expect it to stay that way; however, if gas prices do start spiking upwards, expect prices to stiffen up.
Also, don't expect as much pricing power on the Prius V just yet. Negotiations are possible, but dealers aren't being as aggressive as they are on the 3rd generation Prius.
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