We have only seen a hybrid car on the market now which is the Honda Civic Hybrid. There are over 100 Civic Hybrid owners on the road. Priced around RM162,800 initially, it is now sold aroudn RM128,000. This price reduction is due to the reduction of several taxes for hybrid vehicles. It is still relatively expensive for some of us who wanted to play a part to save the environment. It is a 1.3L car which combined with the electric motor produces power similar to a 1.8L Honda Civic. It is priced nearly the same as the Honda Civic 2.0L.
Similarly, Proton is developing its own hybrid car as well. Dato' Seri Abdullah, our former primer minister has sat on it to go to one of the events he attended before he stepped down.
Toyota Prius, one of the first hybrid vehicles in the market, now 3rd generation has been selling well in US, Japan and Australia. Recently, Toyota Prius is the top selling car in Japan with over 22,000 cars sold. It is the number 2 car top selling car trailing only the Honda Fit (Jazz in Malaysia).1
The 3rd generation Toyota Prius Hybrid will be launched in Malaysia next month. It is great to hear that this car is finally here in Malaysia. We can now play a role in reducing air pollution in the South East Asian region. The 3rd generation Prius has a 1.8L engine which produces 98hp and the electric engine produces about 80hp.2 Combined, the new Prius performs like a 2.4L car. To differentiate Toyota Hybrids from the normal Toyotas, the logo has a blue glow around it.
Prices for the Toyota Prius in Malaysia is expected to hover around RM170,000 similar to a 2.4V Toyota Camry!3. So expensive for a Prius. If it is priced around the same price around a Toyota Vios or even a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic Hybrid, it might appeal to more people. Why do we have to pay so much for a Prius? We can buy MyVi or Persona or even Viva which have high fuel efficiency? The Prius has a better fuel efficiency than these cars. Taxes for hybrid cars should be reduced so that the hybrid cars selling here would be less costly.
Why do we need to pay a high price to own a Toyota Hybrid or Honda Civic Hybrid? In Australia, it is priced at 37K for the normal model and 46.5K for the higher end model. More expensive for the 3rd generation model. Previously it was only about 30K. Even though it's higher now, if we do a direct conversion, it s around RM108-111K for the normal model and around RM137K to RM140K for the higher end model.4 I do not know the number of models are in Malaysia. Please note that the US Prius has 4 models to choose from. Not sure which models are available here. Prices in the US starts from US$22K.
I would be interested in the Toyota Prius if it would be priced lower. However, I will still stick to the normal petrol cars like the Persona or MyVi for now if I am to buy a car in the near future. Maybe in the future, I will be able to afford to buy hybrid cars.
To find out more about the Toyota Prius, you can go to Paul Tan's Automotive News or Toyota Prius website. You can also read The Star Motoring for more details of the car in Malaysia.
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