Yesterday, Toyota announced a major milestone in sales of their fuel efficient Prius:
Toyota’s Prius started out a decade ago as a risky experiment in green technology. Today it is the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid car to hit 1 million in sales. [...]
Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday 1.028 million Prius models had been sold to the end of April.
As gas prices continue to rise and consumers being to change their car buying habits, the Prius has been the one bright spot in a tough year for Toyota:
Toyota’s U.S. sales, down 3.3 percent this year through April, are heading for the first annual decrease since 1995. By contrast, Prius deliveries are up 23 percent in 2008, to 64,664 vehicles. Already the world’s best-selling hybrid, Prius was No. 9 in U.S. passenger-car sales through April, its highest ranking.
For those of you in the market for a Prius, get down to your local Toyota dealer soon as possible, since supplies of the car are at the “lowest level in two years”:
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid, the most fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S., is getting harder to find on dealer lots and commanding higher prices when customers do.
It can take up to two weeks to receive delivery of the hybrid-electric vehicle, said Mark Harding, general manager of Toyota of Santa Monica, in Santa Monica, California.
“We’ve got some in stock at the moment, but we’ve also got a waiting list,” he said. “Supply is very tight.”
“Right now, U.S. customers can get a Prius,” a Toyota spokesman warns.” Next month or the month after that, it’s tough to say.”
Tags: fuel efficiency, prius, suv, toyota
