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Friday April 3, 2009
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Toyota Motor Corporation has set 2.05 million yen starting price ($20,750) in Japan for its third-generation, 2010 Toyota Prius, putting it on par with the newly released Honda Insight, according to Automotive News. That's considerably less than originally planned and could signal an upcoming price war when the car goes on sale in the U.S. on May 18th.
Originally, Toyota's revised Prius was expected to fall in around the $24,000 range, which is roughly what the current model with a similar amount of equipment costs. The report said that a newer, cheaper Prius would prove a tough rival to the Insight, as the Prius gets better mileage, is faster, and is also larger and has more room inside.
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April 3, 2009 3:59 PM
Sounds like Toyota is sacrificing profits to maintain market share. Dubious thinking, when you've just recorded the first losses in your entire history--and fired the CEO for that reason. The new Prius has several advantages over the Insight--even if the mpg advantage isn't easily amortized by today's relatively low gas prices--and Toyota should hype these advantages in order to preserve pricing power. Honda, so far, has never shown the moxie it takes to go mano-a-mano with Toyota and this new Insight proves it with its Prius-lite styling and less advanced, less ambitious IMA hybrid technology.
April 3, 2009 4:20 PM
Very interesting! The new Prius packs more technology under the hood; the problem hasn't even been the purchase price; which is pretty reasonable considering what you get for the money.
I think what'll be interesting is if the Prius gains more market share because it's a hybrid vehicle and the cost is approximate to other, less fuel-efficient and less feature-packed vehicles as a result of the price cuts!
April 4, 2009 10:04 AM
Honda is forcing Toyota to lose profit on its Prius? If its Insight is smaller, etc. and sells for a similar price, it would enjoy a higher profit margin.
April 5, 2009 9:33 AM
Recently drove the Prius 09. The sticker price was 27500 with leather and backup visual. Those were the only two options with drive out near 30K. The car is very underpowered which comes with the great mileage and only has a four star frontal crash rating. Everyone needs to think this one out. If the pricing becomes more affordable as they claim for 2010 then it may be a better purchase. You can get plenty of vehicles that are safer and more powerful with good mileage for under 30K at driveout. With competition Honda and Toyota will hopefully make this market share a better option for us who are concerned about the environment and our safety.