The Star has a very interesting report which came out yesterday. It answers some of the questions that many motorists thinking of taking the leap to hybrid ownership will be asking, based on interviewing spokespersons from both Toyota and Honda, the only two companies which are selling hybrid cars in Malaysia that benefit from the new zero percent import and excise duty. Porsche also sells the Cayenne Hybrid here but because of its engine size, it doesn’t get any exemptions.
I would only take the battery prices information seriously as everything else are just claims that the cars have no issues.
- The Toyota Prius battery costs RM11,500.
- The Honda Civic Hybrid battery costs RM12,000 but there is a 15% discount for customers who buy from authorized dealers.
- Prius warranty is 3 years or 100,000km which covers battery too.
- Civic Hybrid warranty for battery is 3 years or 100,000km.
- UMW Toyota claims there have not been a single battery replacement due to wear and tear in the US, where all generations of Prius have been on sale since 2000.
- Priuses used as taxis in the US have clocked 400,000km without any hybrid component failure.
- A Prius taxi that clocked 550,000km in Australia needed battery replacement due to a low voltage reading.
