Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
I guess you have never been in Uruguay, which has been taken over by subcompacts from Maruti Suzuki and some Chinese automakers. And nowadays with so many crowded cities in every country, a smaller car which is easier to find a parking spot for at a downtown becomes desirable. No wonder in my school days a boy who attended the same school when we were 16 told me his father who had an early Renault Mégane hatchback and a Twingo used the Twingo more frequently.
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Remember, I also live in a third world market.
What I mean is that the Prius C, for its tech and price, is too small.
At the price point we get it at, despite a 50% reduction in tariff versus regular cars, it still costs twice as much as a Yaris. (looking at the US, base price is still double that of a Mirage, even with the bigger tax incentives there).
This means breaking even is an even iffier proposition than with the regular Prius versus something like a Corolla, because small cars already get great fuel mileage. And there's no fallback on "luxury" or "premium" values with the Prius C, because it's cramped, plasticky and not much better inside than a regular Yaris.
A Twingo, a Mirage or a Maruti Suzuki Celerio is actually much more compact, almost as economical (or even more so, in some cases) and costs a fraction of the price.
It's a similar case to Kei Cars. Sure, the rest of the world would love to have them... but they only work due to tax incentives in Japan. Outside of Japan, the most Kei we will put up with are the Alto (because it's two generations out of date and thus very cheap) and the Jimny (because there's nothing quite like it). High tech and luxurious Japanese market Keis just can't compete in terms of price with global products.