Newspaper reports suggest that Toyota Motor Corp. could have about 40,000 pre-orders in hand come mid-May when its third-generation Toyota Prius hybrid goes on sale in Japan.
Reuters cites two newspaper stories as stating that Japanese dealers already have booked more than 20,000 pre-orders. One of the newspapers also quotes an unnamed Toyota official as predicting that pre-sale orders will reach 40,000.
Toyota officials in Japan declined to confirm the reports. In the U.S., a Toyota spokesman told Green Car Advisor that dealers take pre-orders, but that the automaker doesn't track that data.
Prius and Insight pre-orders, whether in Japan or the U.S. are taking on added significance given the head-on sales collision coming as Honda Motor Co. continues to roll out its new Insight hybrid and dealers ready showrooms for the third-generation Toyota Prius.
The Insight hybrid overtook Prius in Japanese domestic sales when it went on sale in February. The model drew 18,000 orders during the month to beat out Prius.
Global Insight, an economic forecasting company, believes that the first month of Prius sales will "easily surpass" the Honda Insight's initial monthly sales figure. Global Insight reports that Toyota "will undoubtedly be helped by its brand name and support for this type of powertrain from the Japanese government in the form of tax reductions."
Toyota expects to sell 400,000 third-generation Prius vehicles globally in 2010, when the new model will be marketed worldwide. U.S., sales are scheduled to being in late May or early June.
Toyota says it will try to compete directly with rival Honda's new model by introducing a downscale base model of its 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid priced at the U.S. equivalent of $20,750 - about the same as a mid-level 2010 Honda Insight. In its home market only, Toyota also will continue selling the second-generation ('09) Prius, heavily stripped down, as an inexpensive, fuel-efficient car for commercial and government fleets.
Source: Green Car Advisor
Reuters cites two newspaper stories as stating that Japanese dealers already have booked more than 20,000 pre-orders. One of the newspapers also quotes an unnamed Toyota official as predicting that pre-sale orders will reach 40,000.
Toyota officials in Japan declined to confirm the reports. In the U.S., a Toyota spokesman told Green Car Advisor that dealers take pre-orders, but that the automaker doesn't track that data.
Prius and Insight pre-orders, whether in Japan or the U.S. are taking on added significance given the head-on sales collision coming as Honda Motor Co. continues to roll out its new Insight hybrid and dealers ready showrooms for the third-generation Toyota Prius.
The Insight hybrid overtook Prius in Japanese domestic sales when it went on sale in February. The model drew 18,000 orders during the month to beat out Prius.
Global Insight, an economic forecasting company, believes that the first month of Prius sales will "easily surpass" the Honda Insight's initial monthly sales figure. Global Insight reports that Toyota "will undoubtedly be helped by its brand name and support for this type of powertrain from the Japanese government in the form of tax reductions."
Toyota expects to sell 400,000 third-generation Prius vehicles globally in 2010, when the new model will be marketed worldwide. U.S., sales are scheduled to being in late May or early June.
Toyota says it will try to compete directly with rival Honda's new model by introducing a downscale base model of its 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid priced at the U.S. equivalent of $20,750 - about the same as a mid-level 2010 Honda Insight. In its home market only, Toyota also will continue selling the second-generation ('09) Prius, heavily stripped down, as an inexpensive, fuel-efficient car for commercial and government fleets.
Source: Green Car Advisor
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