Hybrid help sought by Toyota top management

Want a Toyota hybrid but are unhappy that a purchase
now will get you a much smaller tax break than buyers got a few months
ago? You’re not alone.

Toyota executives are calling for extension of the
full tax credit for the Japanese automaker’s popular hybrids, according
to various wire service reports (Reuters, AP).

Toyota’s
North American president, Jim Press, says sales of its hybrids have
plummeted since the full credit expired in October. The most
popular
vehicle, the Prius, began the year with a $3,150 tax credit. Because
Toyota has already sold more than 60,000 of such vehicles (well more:
144,218 through the end of September), the credit dropped to $1,575 on
Oct. 1. Under the legislation that created the tax break, Toyota hybrid
tax savings will be reduced further on April 1.

"By encouraging consumer support for a promising new
technology, our government is supporting innovation and investing in
our nation’s future," Press told the Electric Drive Transportation
Association. "We’d like to see those tax incentives continue."

The other makers of tax-break eligible autos, Honda,
Ford and GM, have not yet hit the sales mark that will lower their
autos’ credit. In fact, some companies are turning their lower sales
into a sales pitch. Take a look at this Bloomberg report, which begins: "Honda Motor Co., the
second-biggest seller of gasoline-electric autos, said buyers of its
2007 hybrid models still qualify for U.S. tax credits of as much as
$2,100, more than consumers get for Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius."

More government participation urged: Toyota’s Press also is calling for the federal government to walk the walk when it comes to energy efficient vehicles. Fleet purchases for military and government use, he says, would accelerate the development of alternative fuel vehicles.

Don’t expect Toyota’s suggestions to be considered in
the coming lame duck session. Congress has a lot of other stuff on its
agenda, including measures to keep 10 of 12 federal agencies running
and a collection of other individual tax breaks that expired last year.

But come January keep an eye on Toyota’s efforts. The
company might just get some lobbying help from Dubya, who has
previously voiced support for extending tax credits for hybrids and
alternative vehicles.

Personally, I agree with Toyota on this. No, I don’t
own any type of hybrid, am not planning on getting one (or any auto) in
the near future and I don’t have a relative that sells the vehicles. It
just strikes me as wrong to penalize someone for doing the best job,
which apparently is what most hybrid buyers think Toyota is doing.

The credit phase-out is a blatant sop to companies
(read Ford and GM) bringing up the rear in this technology area. I can
see giving a company a break to help it get a firmer footing in a new
area. But this isn’t a new area. Hybrids have been around a while and
domestic automakers opted instead to focus on gas guzzlers instead of
fuel efficient autos. Live by the MPG, die by the MPG. Welcome to the
free market system.

You can read my previous blog items on the tax break here (this story will show up first, so just keep scrolling down). I also wrote this article for Bankrate.com explaining how the credit works.