The new Ford C-MAX Hybrid is now the best-selling hybrid utility vehicle after outselling Toyota Prius v, 3,182 units to 2,769 units, in just its first full month of sales in October.
The Prius v is the station wagon cousin of the Prius and the C-MAX Hybrid is a proper hatchback. Not exactly a fair comparison considering the Prius v has much more cargo space than the new C-MAX Hybrid, but nearly 1/3rd of the customers who brought the new C-MAX hybrid also considered the Toyota Prius as well as the Toyota Prius v. With the exception of cargo space, the new C-MAX Hybrid seems to trump the Prius v in every other parameter.
“The C-MAX Hybrid is winning over customers with its best-in-class passenger room, smart technologies and leading fuel economy,” says C.J. O’Donnell, manager, Ford Electrified Vehicles. “And its $25,995 price tag gives customers the value they are looking for without having to make the typical compromises that have defined most hybrids until now.”
Ford says customers are looking for “real car” features in Hybrids. More than 60 percent of sales of C-MAX Hybrid are the SEL model, which offers Intelligent Access with push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, heated seats, SYNC® with MyFord Touch®, ambient lighting and the Reverse Sensing System standard. Early sales of the SEL model are running about 20 percent higher than expected.
The new C-MAX Hybrid led Ford in achieving its best October hybrid sales month ever with a total of 4,612 sales, up 142 percent over October 2011. The C-MAX Hybrid sales also helped Ford deliver its best October for small car sales in 11 years.
“The new C-MAX is off to a fast start in the heart of the hybrid market, not only outselling Prius v, but drawing a lot of interested Toyota customers who chose our new hybrid instead,” says O’Donnell. “Customers now come into our showrooms for fuel economy, and we’re delivering with six vehicles that offer 40 mpg or better, including the new C-MAX Hybrid at 47 mpg combined, with another two on the way by year’s end.”