http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/03/toyota_auto_bod.html
Toyota Auto Body To Increase Prius Output
9 March 2006
Nikkei. Toyota Auto Body—one of Toyota’s manufacturing subsidiaries in Japan—is increasing its production of hybrid vehicles to meet growing demand both in Japan and abroad.
Beginning in May, the company will double its assembly capacity for the Prius to 120,000 cars a year at its main Fujimatsu plant. The factory began manufacturing the Prius in October 2004 and currently exports around 70% of its output.
The company says a large backlog of orders for the Prius has built up in the US as a result of high gasoline prices. Toyota Motor hopes to eliminate this backlog in the near future by boosting production at the Toyota Auto Body plant. Toyota’s other Japanese facility manufacturing the Prius is the Tsutsumi Plant.
Toyota Auto Body will also begin assembling a new hybrid version of the Estima minivan (earlier post) in the near future. Toyota Auto Body primarily assembles recreational vehicles such as the Estima and the Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle for Toyota. Its production volume is expected to jump 38% to 720,000 units in the year ending March 31.
http://www.hybridhippie.com/2006/05/23/prius-production-will-pick-up-later-this-year/
May 23rd, 2006
Yes Toyota Prius hybrid car production has been reduced, but that should puck up later this year. A couple of weeks ago Toyota announced that the production of the Toyota Prius had been reduced. This reduction of the world”s most popular hybrid car wasn”t caused by a lack of demand, mind you, it was caused by limited hybrid production capabilities. As it turns out, Prius production had to be reduced in order for Toyota to produce its news hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Camry hybrid. Nonetheless, the Prius production reduction - say that 3 times - has produced long waiting list in many of the Nation”s hottest Prii markets. Fortunately, sources indicate that production of the Prius hybrid should be back to normal levels later this year when the Camry hybrid starts its American production in Kentucky. So, if you are disappointed in your Prius quests, just try to hold on a few more months.
Here, the US sales rep says specifically, the reason why Prius sales are low is directly due to the low production numbers. However, the demand has not changed much.
http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2006/112_news29/
May 23, 2006
Just as Toyota is starting to sell hybrid versions of its popular Camry sedan, U.S. sales trends of Toyota's groundbreaking Prius hybrid are slowing for the first time since consumer demand surged more than two years ago. The timing isn't mere coincidence, nor is the cause a shortage of willing buyers for Toyota Motor Co.'s gasoline-and-electric-powered Prius, according to company officials. Rather, the problem is that there are even fewer Priuses available than there were last year, when waiting lists often stretched to six months.
"Production numbers are a little lower this year at the moment. We're basically selling all we can get," said Sam Butto, a Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. spokesman in Torrance, Calif. "It isn't from a lack of interest from the public. That's for sure."
The car that led a revolution away from gas-guzzlers was a novelty when it was introduced, its image instantly polished by movie stars commuting around Hollywood in theirs. Today you're more likely than not to spot a Prius on your commute. They've gone mainstream as gas prices have gone up and hybrid technology has proven itself. Given the public's embrace, automakers are responding by building more hybrids.
Ironically, production capacity for Priuses in Japan is constrained because Toyota recently began making Camry hybrids - that are just hitting West Coast showrooms - on the same assembly line. That should change later this year when Toyota's manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky., starts producing a hybrid version of the Camry. It will be the first Toyota hybrid made in North America. Until now, all the Toyota hybrids sold here have been imported from Japan.
...
http://www.toyotageorgetown.com(Georgetown is now making Camry’s)
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109598
03-11-2006
TOKYO — After nearly two years on sale, Toyota finds it still can't crank out enough versions of its smash hit Prius hybrid to go around. Production at the main plant building in Japan is set to double this summer, up to 120,000 units a year, according to a Japanese newspaper report.
Toyota now builds the Prius at two plants in Japan. Its Tsutsumi plant began production in 2003, then its Toyota Auto Body subsidiary joined in October 2004 to try to meet spiraling demand. It's the subsidiary that will double production from the current 60,000 annual units, the report says.
A Toyota spokesman in Tokyo wouldn't comment on the report but did confirm that the carmaker sold 175,000 Prius units worldwide in 2005. Globally, Toyota sold about 235,000 hybrids last year, with North America taking about 150,000 of those.
Clearly, with local Prius production now starting in China, too, the numbers on the Prius are going nowhere but up.
Ok, so we have seen that the Rep says that the only reason why sales for the Prius are down is because production is down. We have also seen 2 ways in which the Prius was supposed to "increase production" THIS SUMMER (which would probably mean June/July). So, what would we expect to see if production increased in June? I think we see it below. The sales of Prius' for July (1 month delay) skyrocked up 19% over last July and far out do the lack luster numbers before July.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/08/01/016769.html(for a better look, go to the actual web site)
TOYOTA RETAIL SALES
(INCLUDES FLEET & HAWAII)
July, 2006
----- CURRENT MONTH --- -- CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE --
DSR % DSR %
2006 2005 CHG 2006 2005 CHG
PRIUS 11,114 9,691 19.3 59,270 62,999 -5.4
So, as we see above, over the first 6 months (before July) the total number of Prius' sold was way down (well below 5% down) since the 19% up in July would have raised that considerably. This is exactly what we would expect to see if the production increased, especially if what the Rep said was true. So, does this mean now that suply is increasing and demand is staying at least the same (maybe going a little down) from the frenzy of post Katrina gas prices, that we could expect to see more fair and reasonably priced Prius' at dealers? I sure hope so. I sure wouldn't want to pay over sticker price considering they are already making so much profit.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
