As the adage goes, you take the good with the bad - something that Toyota is experiencing at the moment.
In the wake of Toyota’s first loss in 71 years, reports are trickling in that Toyota has received a whopping 180,000 Japanese orders for the third-gen Prius within the space of a month - a good deal more than the 40,000 orders the company was expecting.
While the all-new Toyota Prius has been beaten to the Japanese market by the 2009 Honda Insight, Toyota’s move to drop the price of the Prius appears to have given it a new competitive edge, while the tax-exempt status of hybrid vehicles in Japan has certainly helped its cause too.
The Insight, launched in Japan in February, has taken nearly 20,000 sales in its first three months on the market.
In other matters, according to The Financial Times, Toyota’s June 23 annual shareholder’s meeting will see both the official appointment of Akio Toyoda to Company President, along with a shake-up of senior management.
The company has announced that former Senior Executive Yoshimi Inaba has been coaxed back to Toyota to head-up the company’s US operations, and, as part of a sweeping overhaul of its internal structures, Toyota is to replace up to 40 percent of its senior management at home and abroad.
The Motor Report contacted Toyota Australia for comment on local orders for the 2010 Toyota Prius, and while Public Relations Manager Mike Breen was reluctant to offer numbers, he confirmed that Australian orders have been taken for the new car.
He also confirmed that the Prius is on schedule for a July launch.
[via Reuters]
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Toyota Prius are very unreliable . The Honda Hybrid is much better , plus , we need to have the Hydrogen Honda FCX (http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/) its in the US and we need it here . Hybrids electric cars are really only for City or short trips .
Hydrogen is a better way to go .
Hydrogen isn’t available as a fuel here. So apart from that I would agree
The company has announced that former senior executive Yoshimi Inaba has been coaxed back to Toyota to head-up the company’s US operations, and, as part of a sweeping overhaul of its internal structures, will replace up to 40 percent of its senior management at home and abroad.
“Toyota’s move to drop the price of the Prius appears to have given it a new competitive edge.”
This is simply NOT true. They announced a low price on a yet-to-exist, stripped-down model that MAY be released later this year. It is NOT even available now!! And, according to the New York Times: “A Prius for $21,000? Good Luck Finding One”!
They said: “Shortly after Honda announced that its new Insight hybrid would start at $19,800, Toyota said last month that it would offer its own starter Prius with a base price of $21,000. But if that unexpectedly low price has you reaching for your checkbook, good luck. According to Wade Hoyt, a Toyota spokesman, the stripped-down “Prius I” will mostly be sold to fleets. Getting one for civilian use in many parts of the country may require a special order, he said.”
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It was a publicity-seeking announcement. The car doesn’t even exist. Shame on Toyota!!
tax-exempt status of hybrid vehicles in Japan has certainly helped its cause too.
So what’s the story in Aus?