Toyota Prius booming in the USA

While the automotive market is shrinking in general in the USA, the new generation of the Toyota Prius hybrid seems to be a success. As soon as it was launched, customers were already faced with waiting for a year for delivery of their vehicle. According to the "New York Times", the manufacturer is therefore considering extending manufacturing capacity.

The Prius plant in Japan is already running at maximum output, but can only manufacture 50,000 vehicles per month. In Japan alone, 111,000 units were sold in May and the company is estimating a demand for 200,000 Prius cars per annum for the USA, with a global demand of 400,000. If this boom in turnover continues, it could be that Toyota reconsiders its plans for opening a hybrid plant in the U.S. after having shelved them because of the economic downturn.