Toyota Cuts Chinese Prius By $3000, Delays Japanese Third Generation By 6 Months

FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co announced to cut the price of its Chinese-made Prius hybrid car by up to eight percent to help reverse flat sales, local Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily reported.

The newspaper said the second generation Prius hybrid now costs 259,800 yuan (US$36,500), compared with 282,200 yuan ($39,414) before. Price of Navigation edition of the model has also dropped by 22,200 yuan ($3,100) to 279,800 yuan ($39,078).

FAW Toyota sold only 414 Prius hybrid vehicles in 2007, compared to 2,152 units in 2006.

In Japanese market Toyota has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009.

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Bored - 3/6/2008 7:06:09 PM

+1 Boost

@ Go0bama,

Harumph!

About 15 seconds into the video clip below is what I what to see from Toyota, especially since they are dragging their butts to bring us clean burning diesel hybrid:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=db9_1196372649
[url]http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=db9_1196372649/[/url]

1970toyotamarc - 3/6/2008 11:49:33 AM

+2 Boost

"In Japanese market Toyota has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009."

Wow, bad journalism. I will ignore the grammatical errors which are probably translation errors. However, making a bold statement about a mfr's product plans with no source is unforgivable.

Spring 2009 is, at best, the earliest anyone would expect a new Prius. This time frame would not be a delay, but indeed a cause for celebration. The new Prius, just one year away??? And hopefully the Lexus version too. (Well ahead if all those concepts streaming out of Europe.) 6 months earlier would mean that the Prius would be coming out in Fall '08. I stay pretty hip to the Prius chatter, and I dont ever remember hearing that.

AMiodynski - 3/6/2008 1:25:36 PM

+3 Boost

Lexus should have there "Prius Hybrid" car out by 2010 !! Atleast that's what I'm hearing at the Lexus meeting/events..

investor27 - 3/6/2008 1:39:16 PM

+1 Boost

Does anyone here believe that the delay may bring a lithium Prius instead of the NiMeAh in the Spring of 09? I sincerely hope so.

Porschinator - 3/6/2008 5:34:11 PM

0 Boost

Prius is not going to sell well in China because their people are not stupid. Unless the Chinese version of the Prius is much better than the US version there is little to no incentive to buy it. Other cars in that price range offer much more.

Perhaps Toyota is trying to pander to the environmental drivers in a very polluted country.

Porschinator - 3/6/2008 5:36:03 PM

-1 Boost

As for 3rd Gen delay. That is mostly contributed to the recent Lithium Ion technology that Toyota will implement into the 3rd Gen.