Ford has taken yet another swipe at Toyota in the battle of the hybrids. The Blue Oval announced that in November, their first full month of availability, combined sales of its C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid in the U.S. reached 4,846 units beating the 4,456 deliveries of the Prius Plug-in and Prius V hybrids delivered by Toyota.
“The C-MAX hybrids are off to a great start and our dealers and customers, especially in California, cannot get enough of them early in the launch”, said Ford general marketing manager Dave Mondragon.
Ford says its California dealers report that customer interest in its two hybrid MPVs has been “phenomenal”.
“We really weren’t sure if customers in Northern California would give C-MAX hybrids a shot because the region has been traditionally import-heavy”, commented the owner and president of Ford Store Morgan Hill south of San Jose Tim Paulus. “But they truly love the vehicle, so it’s very exciting.”
Southern California dealers are echoing Paulus’ report. “The amount of interest in C-MAX has been outstanding”, said Dan Treroux, general manager of Airport Marina Ford in LA. “We are getting more and more questions every day – including from quite a few previous Prius owners.”
The two C-MAX hybrids will also be the official cars of the 2013 International Consumer and Electronics Show (CES), the biggest event of its kind to be held in Las Vegas from January 8-11.
“C-MAX is made for CES, especially when you consider the amount of advanced hybrid technology it delivers”, said Mondragon. “From SmartGauge and MyKey to the hybrid transmission and strong fuel economy, C-MAX belongs in the same conversation as the other technologies at CES.”
By Andrew Tsaousis
PHOTO GALLERY
