Toyota to Up Prius Production by 50-Percent to Meet Demand

Toyota Attains Best Average Fuel Economy of Any Full-Line Manufacturer

Good news for the green camp, hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), and especially Toyotas new Prius, are experiencing record sales. The general acceptance of the new technology, spearheaded by Toyota with its first generation Prius and Honda with its Insight and Civic Hybrid, is fostering a number of new and upcoming models from various automakers.

Next on the scene will be Fords Escape Hybrid, which uses Toyota technology, to be followed closely by the Lexus RX 400h, the first luxury hybrid. Shortly thereafter Honda will bolster its HEV ranks with the Accord Hybrid, which will be followed by Toyotas hybrid Camry. Nissan will incorporate Toyotas Hybrid Synergy Drive system for its upcoming Altima

Hybrid as well, and the list grows and grows with every passing month.

Will market demand be able to keep up with the many new HEVs becoming available? If Toyotas Prius is any indication then there wont be too much of a problem selling everything that hits the market. According to Automotive News, Toyota announced at a press conference in Nagoya, Japan yesterday that it will increase production of its Prius from about 10,000 units per month to 15,000 in order to meet customer demand.

Much of the global allocation will be going to North America as 2005 model-year cars, as demand has been extremely strong.

"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," commented 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."

Toyota will be adding the additional 5,000 units per month to an unspecified assembly line at an existing Japanese production facility. The new Prius design allows it to be built on the same assembly lines as conventional cars, making it much more flexible to produce than the first-generation Prius which needed to be manufactured in its own facility. Toyota will announce the new location later in the year, with production starting within the first half of next year.

While Prius is the world sales leader among Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV), the company that produces it is also the global fuel economy leader, or at least thats what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Trends Report says. According to the EPA, 2004 model year Toyota vehicles attain the best average car fuel economy, the best average truck fuel economy and the best overall average fuel economy of any full-line manufacturer.

Which vehicles do best? The EPA ranks a total of eight Toyota and Scion vehicles in the top 20 most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered light-duty vehicles in the U.S. Thats more than any other automaker. Altogether, Toyota sells nine vehicles with a combined city and highway rating of at least 30 mpg, including the Echo, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, Solara, Scion xA, and Scion xB, as well as the outgoing MR2 and Celica - both to be discontinued in North America. The upcoming Scion tC will most likely also be included on this list when it becomes available this fall.

Whats more, all Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in North America comply with CARB (California Air Resources Board) certification as Low Emission Vehicles (LEV), with 75 percent achieving Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) status. Also impressive, the 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan and Lexus RX 330 SUV get ULEV II ratings, which is an emission standard thats 50 percent more rigorous to achieve than regular ULEV ratings.

Also, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) rated 23 Toyota cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans as the "Best of 2004," which again was more than any other manufacturer.