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Toyota To Increase Production of 2010 Prius 25% On Strong Pre-Orders
26 April 2009
Nikkei. Toyota Motor Corp. will increase monthly output of the 2010 Prius starting in June by at least 25% to 50,000 units, up from an earlier planned 40,000 units per month, based on receiving more advance orders than expected.
Production in fiscal 2009 is now expected to total some 500,000 units, including April and May, when production will be ramping up ahead of the release. That is up substantially from the previous forecast for a little over 300,000.
Pre-orders for the new hybrid began in April, and exceeded 40,000 early last week. They are expected to keep climbing to anywhere between 60,000 and 70,000 before the launch date, indicating unusually robust demand for a new model. Advance orders alone of the new Prius may end up nearing total fiscal 2008 sales of the second-generation Prius in Japan, which came to 70,618 units.
April 26, 2009 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: SJC | April 26, 2009 at 12:10 PM
This car is going to kick ass, Toyota did a great job, appealing look, improved fuel economy, improved performances, improved confort,prices under control, what's left to the competion, their eyes to cry...
The fact that they back looged so many pre-order when the gas price is so low is a clear sign that this car is going to be a big success.
Posted by: Treehugger | April 26, 2009 at 02:47 PM
It's a nice car, hybrid or not.
I think that's why it sells so well.
It might even do better if it were not a hybrid.
Posted by: TM | April 26, 2009 at 07:20 PM
Like most automakers earler this year Toyota shut all but one production line.
Guess which line they didn't dare close down?
Posted by: Paul | April 26, 2009 at 09:17 PM
It occurred to me that this might be a good supply/demand model. Pre order your car and wait a while for it. No more inventory stacking up. A car is a big purchase, not like going to a store and getting it off the shelf.
Posted by: SJC | April 26, 2009 at 10:17 PM
Hi TM!
One of the main reasons why the Prius is such a nice car is BECAUSE it's a hybrid. I have let more than a dozen people drive my Prius II, and the things that most of them liked most about the car were the super smooth acceleration, the low engine noise, the lack of unnecessary idling when stopped, and that special feeling of gliding when in EV mode at low speeds. All these things have been realized because of the hybrid drive train. I am pretty sure that they would have found my car to be only half as nice if it had a conventional drive train.
Posted by: Fred H | April 27, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Agree with SJC; pre-ordering keeps costs down (no sitting on dealer lots), lowers impulsive purchasing, allows factories to more readily meet real-time demand, etc.
Posted by: Will S | April 27, 2009 at 09:20 AM
I checked a local Honda dealer and they have 46 new 2010 Honda Insights on the lot. I checked with a Ford dealer and they might have 2 new 2010 Fusion hybrids on the lot. This tells me who is serious about selling hybrids.
Posted by: SJC | April 29, 2009 at 10:01 AM
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Toyota boosts output while GM shuts down. The PNGV program was followed by Toyota and scorned by GM. Maybe it would have been wiser to pay attention.
As Al Gore joked on Saturday Night Live..."since I insisted that cars run on trash, gasoline prices have fallen to 50 cents per gallon".