Toyota Motor Corp. says it will try to compete directly with rival Honda Motor Co.'s new Insight hybrid in the Japanese market 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.
The company has not made a formal announcement of the strategy, but has told Japan's Toyota dealers what to expect, according to a report in the trade journal Automotive News.
In the U.S., Toyota will launch the 2010 Prius in late May or early June without a base model, adding it sometime in the third quarter.
That model will let Toyota in the US replicate the Japanese strategy: it will have less standard equipment than other 2010 Prius models and is expected to be priced several thousand dollars less to compete with the smaller Insight.
Toyota hasn't announced U.S. pricing for the new Prius, but the "Level 2" model that will serve as the price-leader at launch is expected to come in at about $23,500-$24,000. Honda launched the 2010 Insight in the U.S. last month with a base price of $20,470, versus the 2009 Prius' base price of $22,720.
Toyota executives previously had maintained that they did not consider the Insight a direct competitor because the Honda hybrid, while also seating five, is a compact while the 5-passenger Prius is a mid-sized car. The Insight also delivers less fuel economy, with an EPA combined city-highway rating of 41 miles per gallon versus the 2010 Prius' 50 mpg rating.
Pressure from Toyota dealers who fear losing hybrid customers to Honda in is believed to have influenced the decision to add a cut-rate model to the Prius lineup.
In Japan - but not in the U.S. - 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: Automotive News via Green Car Advisor
The company has not made a formal announcement of the strategy, but has told Japan's Toyota dealers what to expect, according to a report in the trade journal Automotive News.
In the U.S., Toyota will launch the 2010 Prius in late May or early June without a base model, adding it sometime in the third quarter.
That model will let Toyota in the US replicate the Japanese strategy: it will have less standard equipment than other 2010 Prius models and is expected to be priced several thousand dollars less to compete with the smaller Insight.
Toyota hasn't announced U.S. pricing for the new Prius, but the "Level 2" model that will serve as the price-leader at launch is expected to come in at about $23,500-$24,000. Honda launched the 2010 Insight in the U.S. last month with a base price of $20,470, versus the 2009 Prius' base price of $22,720.
Toyota executives previously had maintained that they did not consider the Insight a direct competitor because the Honda hybrid, while also seating five, is a compact while the 5-passenger Prius is a mid-sized car. The Insight also delivers less fuel economy, with an EPA combined city-highway rating of 41 miles per gallon versus the 2010 Prius' 50 mpg rating.
Pressure from Toyota dealers who fear losing hybrid customers to Honda in is believed to have influenced the decision to add a cut-rate model to the Prius lineup.
In Japan - but not in the U.S. - 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: Automotive News via Green Car Advisor
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