It seems that the Japanese success of the Prius fueled by government incentives, among other things, was a bit higher than Toyota had expected. The automaker reportedly sold 31,758 of the highly sought after vehicle in the month of September which, according to Autoblog, marks the 5th consecutive month that the Prius has been the top selling car in Japan.

That’s not the problem, however, as the real problem is that the success has been so great that if you were to order a 2010 Prius in Japan, the chances of you getting one before May 2010 are slim to none.

Let’s see how the 2010 Toyota Prius holds up in North America.

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Earlier this month we let you know that GM would officially begin selling brand new vehicles on eBay this month. Well, the programs been underway for a while now with some not-so-great results. It seems that the partnership has only generated 45 sales in the 9 days that the program has been live. To put this into perspective, there are currently 16,000+ vehicles listed on the site.

The program is far from a failure, however, as eBay says the new GM site has generated over 630,000 visits along with an additional 960,000 searches for listed GM vehicles.

We’ll just have to give the program a bit of time to run its course before we deem it a success or failure as this whole idea of bidding on brand new cars is still a very new concept.

via autoblog

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The VW/Porsche merger is no small move, and that’s no secret. But it seems that VW CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has a very strong feeling that Porsche will be coming out better than they went in. In fact, in a recent interview with German magazine Manager Magazin, Winterkorn has said that he could see Porsche sales increasing 200% to 150,00 vehicles sold a year by 2013.

The only way to actually see how Porsche will do once the deal goes down is to wait however, Mr. Winterkorn seems pretty confident. Let the speculation begin!

via wcf

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Demand for the Toyota Prius and the new Cash for Clunkers program drove hybrid sales high for the month of July, as indicated by revenue reports by Green Car Advisor.

Hybrid sales went up to a total of 35 percent for the month, compared to a year ago. Non-hybrids fell 13 percent. The Toyota Prius had its best month since April 2008, selling 19,193 units. Many other hybrids such as the Escape, Altima, and Camry, all saw double-digit increase in sales.

via Autoblog Green

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It seems that the inevitable has happened – energy efficient vehicles are taking over the world. Japan in particular, due to high gas prices (around $4.50 a gallon) and tax breaks on hybrid vehicles, has proven itself to be the most prominent hybrid vehicle market in the world.

According to AutoBlogGreen, in June alone, Toyota sold 22,292 Prius’ while Honda sold 8,782 Insights, both hybrid vehicles. This apparantly ousts America’s number of 26,205 hybrids sold in the same amount of time.

And, just as a fun fact, there is apparantly a 7-month waiting list for Toyota’s upcoming 2010 Prius.

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A drop in the price of diesel has pushed it below gas prices, and ignited sales of diesel fueled vehicles. According to the Department of Energy, the average price for a gallon diesel as of June 22 is $2.61, while average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.69 and if your car requires premium, tack on another $0.25 or so. Now that it’s not just a more efficient fuel, but also cheaper to drive a diesel, it’s not surprising that Americans are flocking to the few carmakers that offer them.

As a matter of fact, Volkswagen saw a rise of 71% in sales of the Jetta TDI between April and May, as reported by AutoWeek and are expecting to do just as well or even better in June. Mercedes-Benz is also profiting from this sales trend, with their diesel powertrains. Some of these diesel engine vehicles are eligible for a tax break of between $900 and $1,800 under a provision of the Lean Burn bill.

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While other automakers are feeling the heat from the jumbled economy, BMW and MINI aren’t feeling the same — The automakers have recently annouced via a press statement that they will be adding 17 new U.S. dealerships expanding the overall network to 100 total.

The increase in dealerships is due to a spike in MINI sales which they hope to increase by expanding their United States’ presence.

The first dealership will open in Birmingham, Alaabama while all of the other dealerships are listed in the press release after the break.

(more…)

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Lamborghini had its most successful year on record last year but even it cannot escape the effects of an economic crisis. Lamborghini sales are down more than 30% for the first five months of the year and the company is anticipating things will stay this way until at least 2011. This news is somewhat beneficial for Lamborghini’s customers. Thanks in part to the recession, those who can still afford a Lamborghini will not have to wait as long for delivery compared to just a few months ago.

Speaking with Financial Times, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann stated that the company will be cutting its delivery time in half. Essentially, buyers who once had to wait up to a year to get their new cars will now only have to wait about six months. “We always have to sell less than demand,” Winkelmann told reporters. However, he acknowledged that the recession was hitting the luxury sector hard, particularly in its key U.S. market.

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Smart Fortwo was really popular in 2008 when Penske Automotive Group, the official sold over 24k total sales. The sales for 2009 do not look as good. So far only 7,451 Fortwo cars have been sold and Penske Automotive wants to sell at least 25k this year.

With all these in mind Penske has decided to offer some incentive for all Fortwo buyers. Until the end of July you will be able to qualify for 4.2% financing through Daimler Financial Services for every new 2009 Smart Fortwo. What do you think? Is that enough to convince you to purchase a new Fortwo.

via autonews

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The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported May sales of 22,993 vehicles which is a decrease of 27.7 percent from the 31,781 vehicles sold in the same month of 2008. However, this month, the Midwest and Northest indicated signs of buyers’ interest and that’s good news for the entire premium market. “As we have been seeing all year, customers remain cautious, and when they shop for premium products they are buying brands that have a history of value, dependability and enduring quality. This has helped sales in our core 3 Series, 5 Series and X5 range,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC.

The company’s Ultimate Service including the four-year no cost maintenance program in combination with one of the highest residual values in the industry contributes to BMW being a secure purchase in this environment. In May, the BMW 3 Series attained an important milestone in the U.S. with over two million units sold since the launch of the first 3 Series (320i) back in November 1976. The BMW 3 Series has remained the unmatched benchmark in the premium segment for over 30 years.

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2010 Prius

Toyota is predicting that its new 2010 Prius hybrid will gather enough orders to outsell its rival, the Honda Insight hybrid in Japan. Scheduled to go on sale in Japan on Monday, the new Prius has reportedly already scored more than 75,000 sales. This information comes from Japan’s Nikkei business daily, and if it turns out to be accurate, the orders will represent a significant amount of sales for the car’s annual sales as last year, 73,000 units of the Prius were sold in Japan.

This is good news for Toyota, which is still preparing for an all-out price war with Honda’s Insight, the car which has already beaten Toyota’s Prius in Japanese sales for one month this year. The new Prius will reportedly still cost more than the Honda Insight, which sells for less than ¥2 million (approximately $21,000), but provides a larger engine and more standard features. Toyota is hoping to eventually sell 400,000 units of the new Prius around the world next year, while Honda’s sales have easily surpassed their own predicted sales forecasts.

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Chevrolet Matiz

While GM is struggling with possible bankruptcy, one of its brands, Chevrolet, has actually increased its sales in the UK. In April, sales increased by almost 18% despite the recession. The Aveo, the Matiz and the Captiva SUV have reported a hike in sales. With the British government’s policy of offering cash for scrap scheme, Chevrolet notices that people are trading in high end luxury brands for Chevrolet’s value.

The Matiz, for example, is available for only £4,295 to customers trading in a car more than 10 years old, making it one of the most inexpensive new cars in Britain. The company is also planning to introduce a new family sedan, the Cruze, in UK this summer.

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Buzz has recently been circulating the internet that Toyota is expecting a modest 40,000 preorders for their latest rendition of the Prius.

Keep in mind that these numbers are expected from Japanese consumers but if it’s true, we will likely see similar if not better numbers here in the States.

If the 2010 Prius gets mileage like Toyota reported it to get earlier this month, these things will be sure to sell like hot cakes.

Read (Autoblog)

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General Motors Corp has announced they will halt Cadillac sales in more than half of the brand’s European markets following the break down of its regional distributor. G.M. says they will focus their energies on markets such as the United Kingdom, Russia, and Switzerland where the luxury brand has been able to compete against Germany’s BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi premium brands.

Presently, GM sells Cadillacs in 25 European markets. Last year Cadillac’s European sales fell 5 percent to 4,556. Corvette sales were 15.3 lower than 2007 at 1,086 and Hummer sales were down 1.8 percent to 2,327.

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In a market which saw plummeting January sales for most automobile manufacturers in January, Hyundai actually saw a 14% sales increase. Hyundai credits the increase in January 2009 sales to its recent ad campaign promising the buyers of new Hyundai vehicles that Hyundai will take the car back with no credit penalty if the buyers lose their jobs during the payment contract. Chrysler LLC led the bad news with a 55% drop in sales in January, GM was next with 49%, and Ford was saw a 40% drop compared with January 2008.

Japanese makers were not immune, and almost all of them also saw significant drops. Toyota’s sales fell 32%, Nissan sales fell 30%, and even Honda sales fell 28%. The only other automaker besides to show an increase in sales in the first month of 2009 was Subaru, which enjoyed an 8% increase in sales in the first month of 2009.

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