Both Toyota and Honda are hybrid pioneers.
Both companies sell subcompact gasoline models (the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit) and separate subcompact hybrid models (the Toyota Prius C and Honda Insight).
What most U.S. buyers don't know is that those companies also sell hybrid versions of the Yaris and Fit. They sell well in Japan--but the companies have no intention of bringing them to the States.
Why? According to a Toyota executive who asked to remain anonymous, it has to do with the differences between how drivers in the U.S. and the rest of the world travel, and small-car aerodynamics.
While this is one man's unconfirmed account, it explains a question that had always puzzled us. Here's what he said.
More high-speed highway
In short, European and Japanese buyers not only travel shorter distances in their cars, they do so at slower speeds. With older cities and relatively less U.S.-style suburban sprawl, those drivers spend more time in stop-and-go traffic--and a lot less time on the highway.
2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
In the U.S., we think nothing of hopping in our cars to travel 100 miles or more. Elsewhere, gasoline is double the price, and mass transit is an accepted alternative--often even the default.
Trains and buses are clean, comfortable, frequent, and quick. They're used by all segments of society. And the price against the cost of gasoline and tolls is a much better match than in the States.
Prius surge, after two years of recalls and production disruptions, propelled the Toyota City, Japan-based company back into the global sales lead for the first three months of the year. The hybrid line also gives the Toyota brand three of the top 10 models in the U.S. so far this year, including its midsize Camry.
“It proves Prius wasn’t a fluke, that there’s a long-term market for hybrids,” said Eric Noble, president of the Car Lab, an automotive consultancy in Orange, California.
In the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunami that cut parts and auto production for Japanese carmakers, the government in December began encouraging purchases of fuel- efficient autos to reverse sagging domestic deliveries.
Rebates of as much as 100,000 yen ($1,258) are available from a 300 billion yen fund for qualified cars, including the Prius hatchback, wagon, plug-in and Aqua subcompact, sold in the U.S. and elsewhere as the Prius c. Tax savings further reduce the purchase price by another 100,000 yen or more. The average price for a Prius in Japan is about 2.5 million yen and around $25,000 in the U.S.
Both companies sell subcompact gasoline models (the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit) and separate subcompact hybrid models (the Toyota Prius C and Honda Insight).
What most U.S. buyers don't know is that those companies also sell hybrid versions of the Yaris and Fit. They sell well in Japan--but the companies have no intention of bringing them to the States.
Why? According to a Toyota executive who asked to remain anonymous, it has to do with the differences between how drivers in the U.S. and the rest of the world travel, and small-car aerodynamics.
While this is one man's unconfirmed account, it explains a question that had always puzzled us. Here's what he said.
More high-speed highway
In short, European and Japanese buyers not only travel shorter distances in their cars, they do so at slower speeds. With older cities and relatively less U.S.-style suburban sprawl, those drivers spend more time in stop-and-go traffic--and a lot less time on the highway.
2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
In the U.S., we think nothing of hopping in our cars to travel 100 miles or more. Elsewhere, gasoline is double the price, and mass transit is an accepted alternative--often even the default.
Trains and buses are clean, comfortable, frequent, and quick. They're used by all segments of society. And the price against the cost of gasoline and tolls is a much better match than in the States.
Prius surge, after two years of recalls and production disruptions, propelled the Toyota City, Japan-based company back into the global sales lead for the first three months of the year. The hybrid line also gives the Toyota brand three of the top 10 models in the U.S. so far this year, including its midsize Camry.
“It proves Prius wasn’t a fluke, that there’s a long-term market for hybrids,” said Eric Noble, president of the Car Lab, an automotive consultancy in Orange, California.
In the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunami that cut parts and auto production for Japanese carmakers, the government in December began encouraging purchases of fuel- efficient autos to reverse sagging domestic deliveries.
Rebates of as much as 100,000 yen ($1,258) are available from a 300 billion yen fund for qualified cars, including the Prius hatchback, wagon, plug-in and Aqua subcompact, sold in the U.S. and elsewhere as the Prius c. Tax savings further reduce the purchase price by another 100,000 yen or more. The average price for a Prius in Japan is about 2.5 million yen and around $25,000 in the U.S.
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