At Business Week, they go over the future of Japanese hybrids including the Insight, regulatory changes in the U.S. and Europe, but primarily the new Prius. Toyota Prius Chief Engineer Akihiko Otsuka ... is confident that sales of the new-generation Prius will run between 300,000 to 400,000 between now and the end of the year... Toyota plans to increase battery production for hybrids this year, from 500,000 to 800,000, and to more than 1 million by the early 2010s...Sounds like good times ahead, but there's no quick plans to re-open the Mississippi plant.
There is only one Prius model (body style). That is A LOT of cars to produce and sell in a relatively short period of time, even for a global market. We'll see.... Keith
