New High-Occupancy-Vehicle Lane Rules May Boost Prius Plug-In Sales in California

The new Prius plug-in will be available in the US early next year and will cost $32,780 –or $8,500 more than the non-plug-in version of Toyota’s hybrid. That’s quite a remarkable price difference even if you include the $2,500 tax incentive and, for some, a deterrent in buying the plug-in hybrid.

However, as it turns out though, the State of California may have unintentionally helped Toyota sell more of its new plug-in hybrid model. That’s because two months ago, it changed the rules for High-Occupancy-Vehicle (H.O.V.) lanes, and specifically which single-passenger occupied models were allowed to use them.

Under the new rules, all-electric cars and trucks, plus hydrogen fuel cell and natural gas vehicles are eligible. The regular Prius, which was previously a member of this short list, has now been excluded.

This is where the Prius plug-in steps in. California authorities have classified it as an EAT-PZEV, which stands for Enhanced Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle, partially thanks to Toyota's decision to offer Californians a longer-term warranty for the car's lithium-ion batteries - 10-years, 150,000-mile instead of 8-year, 100,000 miles offered in other states.

Therefore, despite the price difference, many Prius customers in California may consider the extra cost a reasonable price to pay for avoiding traffic jams.

The next model to follow suit is the Volt, which is excluded from H.O.V. lanes due to its 8-year warranty. General Motors though will offer a 10-year, 150,000-mile warranty on Chevy’s extended range hybrid from 2012 in order to earn an EAT-PZEV rating as well.

Story source: NY Times

Toyota Says New Prius Plug-in Hybrid will Cost Under £31,000 in Britain

After Toyota's U.S. arm came out with pricing details on the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the firm's British division is next in line to inform buyers what they're going to pay for the car when it goes on sale in Britain in the first half of 2012.

However, instead of giving a exact price tag, Toyota UK said the plug-in version of the Prius will "cost less than £31,000" before any government incentives, which can reduce the price to customer by up to £5,000, or under £26,000.

Toyota says that while official consumption numbers are still pending, it predicts the Prius Plug-in Hybrid will emit 49g/km of carbon dioxide and achieve 134.5mpg UK (equal to 112mpg US or 2.1lt/100km) combined cycle fuel economy (apparently when working in both pure electric and hybrid modes).

Ewan Shepherd, General Manager Toyota/Lexus Fleet Services commented: “Prius Plug-in Hybrid will be an exciting and valuable addition to what is already an industry-leading Toyota range that delivers significant financial benefits to companies and company car drivers with advanced and highly efficient models such as Prius and the British-built Auris Hybrid.”

Toyota added that it has entered a partnership with LeasePlan to support a corporate sales programme for Prius Plug-in Hybrid not only in the UK but also across the rest of Europe.

PHOTO GALLERY

Toyota Announce Rate Of New Prius Family with An Itroductory Commercial Video

Coinciding with the announcement on pricing for the new 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid that will launch next spring and the new Prius V minivan that is set to go on sale this October, Toyota has unleashed a new campaign to promote the growing family of Prius models.

The new TV spot is named "People Person" and it was created by advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi.

The ad follows a dozen or so people linked together to form a gigantic and somewhat creepy looking man brushing his teeth and eating breakfast while reading the paper. The giant person then exits the house and sees four Prius models, including the regular Prius, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the Prius V and the forthcoming compact Prius in concept form, parked on his driveway.

Then all of a sudden, the people forming the giant begin to leave the formation and drop down to enter the cars.

You can watch the commercial for yourself in the video below.

Toyota Will Build Hybrid Drivetrains in Four Years Out Of Japan

Toyota Prius Family

Toyota has chosen to focus most of its resources on its hybrid models, and more specifically on the Prius “family” and Lexus lineup, in order to recover from this year’s earthquake and the subsequent, and quite substantial, decrease in global sales due to parts shortages.

Until now, Toyota manufactured all components of hybrid drivetrains, such as battery packs, electric motors and inverters only at its Japanese plants. The recent disaster has shown the vulnerability of the decision to put all of your eggs in one basket.

Therefore, the company has decided to change its policy and manufacture them not only in Japan but also in overseas factories.

“Right now, hybrid component production is too biased toward Japan”, Toyota’s executive vice president in charge of global purchasing, Shinichi Sasaki, told Automotive News. “We have to devise a tactic roughly within a year –that means this may be implemented in three or four years’ time.”

According to Mr. Sasaki, Toyota’s revised plan calls for the production of Toyota and Lexus hybrid components at global production centers that will then ship the parts to assembly plants worldwide. He added that the most likely choices would be Toyota’s North American, Southeast Asia and China plants.

PHOTO GALLERY

Toyota Prices New 2012 Prius Plug-in from $32,760 and Prius V Minivan from $27,160

Toyota has released the full rundown on the pricing of the upcoming 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the five-passenger Prius V minivan.

The first-ever Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which combines the firm’s Hybrid Synergy Drive with a small lithium-ion battery to extend the electric-only driving range, starts at $32,000 not including a $760 processing and handling (DPH) fee that raises the price to $32,760, while the better equipped Advance trim model will have an MSRP of $39,525 or $40,285 with DPH.

The Japanese company said it expects both Prius Plug-in trim levels to qualify for a federal tax credit of approximately $2,500.

The plug-in model features a new Lithium-ion battery that offers an extended electric-only driving range of up to 15 miles at a maximum speed of 62 mile-per-hour. The battery can be fully charged in 2.5-3 hours using a standard 120V outlet or 1.5 hours using 240V.

According to Toyota estimates, the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid will deliver approximately 87 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) and 49 MPG when operating in hybrid mode.

The Prius Plug-in Hybrid will begin reaching showrooms in spring of 2012.

The third member of the Prius family is the Prius V minivan, which carries a base MRSP $26,400, or $27,140 if you include the DPH fee. According to the Japanese automaker, the Prius V will return estimated EPA fuel economy ratings of 44 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined.

The hybrid minivan is scheduled to arrive in Toyota dealerships across the country in late October.

PHOTO GALLERY

Toyota Focuses Recovery Efforts on Prius Hybrid Family

The March 11 earthquake that shook Japan to its core had many collateral damages, one of which was vehicle manufacturing. For example, more than 650 of Toyota’s suppliers suffered great damages and halted production, forcing the Japanese automaker to reconsider its strategy. Two weeks later, its management had reached the conclusion that it should focus its worldwide resources mainly on one model line. “We were rapidly burning through cash, so in order to survive this we prioritized the cars our customers wanted most” explained head of production Atsushi Niimi.

So which vehicles were the chosen ones? Could it be the cars that helped it the most to become the world’s number one car manufacturer since 2008? Nope: Corolla and Camry would have to take a back seat to hybrids, and especially the Prius. Therefore, Toyota started off by ensuring that it could find parts for the Prius and the Lexus hybrids.

“The last several years have been a triple shock for Toyota” said Masatoshi Nishimoto of Tokyo-based consulting company HIS Inc. “It’s now at a major turning point.”

The first came in 1990. Up until that point, six of the world’s 10 biggest companies were Japanese, with Toyota in ninth place. When the real estate bubble burst, things changed dramatically: Toyota is the sole Japanese company in BusinessWeek’s top 50 ranking, down to 35th place.

Then there was the 2009-2010 floor-mat and sticky pedal recall saga. The way it was handled resulted in a $16.4 million dollar fine by the NHTSA and millions of recalls – which meant more millions lost, and perhaps more importantly, the loss of Toyota’s reputation as the manufacturer of the world’s most reliable cars.

This year’s earthquake, along with the strengthening of the yen against the US dollar, made things even more difficult as of all Japanese car manufacturers, Toyota is the one that builds the most cars domestically.

Toyota will certainly lose the number one spot on world sales to General Motors this year and Lexus, after a decade, falls behind rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now, Akio Toyoda is betting his company’s future on hybrid technology and especially the Prius. The three new models of the world’s best-selling hybrid take center spot have to succeed if the company is to make a quick recovery.

Story source: Bloomberg

Photo Gallery: