Toyota Motor’s (TM) gas-electric hybrid Prius has been judged the top-selling car in Japan. The automaker sold as many as 208,876 units of the car in 2009, which is nearly three times that model’s sales volume in 2008.
The third generation 4-door compact hybrid, Toyota Prius 2010, debuted in Japan on May 18, 2009, and has been the top-selling model every month since then. Soon after the launch, Toyota received an order of 180,000 units, exceeding the company’s target of 10,000 units in monthly sales.
Prius also overtook Honda’s (HMC) new hybrid model Insight, introduced in February 2009. Insight has become the second ranked hybrid, selling 93,283 units in 2009.
The first generation Prius was introduced in 1997. In the third generation, Toyota has upgraded the 2010 model with a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine and mileage of 50 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 49 mpg on the highway. This compares with the 46 mpg of the old generation model.
Hybrid sales in Japan are on the rise since the government announced several tax breaks and incentives to spur industry growth. It constitutes about 10% of new vehicle sales in Japan. Hybrids are now tax-free in Japan, delivering savings of 150,000 yen ($1,500) for a Prius buyer. This can be another factor behind the popularity of the new Prius.
Demand for Prius has also been strong in the U.S. In the U.S. government’s $3 billion cash incentive program, Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) – aka “Cash for Clunkers” – Prius ranked seventh in the top-10 buy list, followed by Honda Accord and Honda Fit.
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