I could understand the discrepency between Hybrid sales and BEV sales, but i have to admit i dont understand why the Volt isnt up there with the Prius ?
Is there any price difference in the US ?
I know the Prius is a very well developed piece of kit, but i have never been in a Volt.
A normal Prius isn't a plug-in, so it is much less expensive than any plug-in. Most of the Priuses out there are not Prius Primes, so they are relatively cheap; they're also very well-established in the market with a reputation for reliability that attracts even taxi drivers.
That doesn't explain greater sales of the Prius Prime versus the Volt, but in that case... yes, just quickly from their websites it looks like the Prius Prime starts at US$27,100 versus the Volt starting at US$34,095... a similar differential to the better-equipped versions Damon described. I assume that the Volt price is driven up by higher battery capacity. Of course both can go much higher with options.
It may be a trivial factor, but I think GM has hurt Volt sales by insisting on calling it an "electric car", so uneducated potential buyers write it off as unsuitable, not even realizing that it has an engine and the associated lack of range concerns. Yes, one could drive a Volt without ever letting the engine start, but it's still a hybrid.
