Toyota Announces 50-Percent Boost in 2005 Prius Hybrid Production to Meet Unprecedented Demand TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- At a press conference in Nagoya, Japan earlier today, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that it will boost monthly production of the Prius gas-electric hybrid sedan from approximately 10,000 units per month to 15,000, in order to meet global demand. Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc., announced today that it is negotiating with TMC to significantly increase its North American allocation of the Prius for model-year 2005, to help meet the vehicle's unprecedented demand in the U.S. market. "When the all-new second-generation Prius was launched in mid-October of last year, we had an annual sales plan of about 36,000 units," said Don Esmond, Toyota Division senior vice president and general manager. "Two months later, in December 2003, we announced a 31-percent increase in our sales plan to 47,000 units annually, and promised that if we needed more, we would build more. Clearly, the extraordinary response to Prius took us by surprise. With demand far-outstripping supply, customers have been forced to wait many months for delivery. Our announcement to increase production by fifty percent, should prove to our dealers and our customers that we are good on our word." Read entire article by clicking this link. Jeff
