Chevy Volt Hot on the Heels of Toyota Prius
Toyota have recently celebrated the sale of its millionth Prius hybrid vehicle, marking an incredibly important and significant milestone for a concept originally believed to be somewhat ahead of its time. The Prius was the very first and only car t be launched which seemed to fit the niche for both environmentally conscious motorists and those more interested in fuel economy across the board. Little to no competition was faced at the time, though a number of fully-electric alternatives such as the Chevy Volt have begun flying off the production lines, ideally timed to the not-so welcome return of $4 gas.
The Chevy volt was launched during the fourth quarter of 2010, following huge anticipation generated by extensive marketing campaigns. Its initial sales in November equaled the levels of the Prius, though has fluctuated somewhat ever since, totaling approximately 30,000 buyers per month which somewhat lags behind its Toyota counterpart. Demand however is likely to increase significantly across the board for both models, as gas prices so little sign of shifting anywhere other than upward during 2011.
Rather than having a detrimental effect of the sales of competing models, it seems that all attention the electric and hybrid vehicle markets are receiving of late is benefiting all such manufacturers across the board, which is a trend set to continue and accelerate in 2012.
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