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Toyota Aims for Even Better Prius Performance

Company Eyes North American Plant for its Hybrid Models

May 21, 2006

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Already miles ahead of the competition, Toyota hopes to significantly improve the efficiency of its wildly-popular Prius hybrid and open a new assembly plant in North America, a top company official said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Toyota Vice Chairman Fujio Cho said the company hopes to shrink key hybrid components, including the batteries, inverters and electric motors, making them just one-quarter of their current size. That would reduce the weight of the Prius and improve its already superior fuel economy.

Cho made the remarks in Lexington, Kentucky, where he was commemorating the 20th anniversary of Toyota's assembly plant there. He said the Prius' popularity in the U.S. gives the company an incentive to produce the car on American soil.

The bulky size of key hybrid components has kept Toyota from building hybrids here so far. If the parts can be smaller and lighter, it would be economically feasible to assembly Priuses and other hybrids in the U.S., Cho said.

The vast majority of hybrids sold around the world are currently produced in Japan.

Smaller components would also make the new hybrids more affordable and improve performance and fuel economy, while perhaps solving the primary problem afflicting the Prius -- Toyota's inability to build enough of the little cars to meet surging demand.

Sales of the Prius slipped 11% in the first quarter of the year because of production delays. Toyota says some of the delays were caused as it ramped up production of other hybrid models at the same plants were the Prius is built.

The demand shortfall hasn't hurt Toyota overall. In fact, it has resulted in strong sales of the company's newest hybrid -- the Camry Hybrid.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that California drivers, frustrating with long Prius waiting lists, are beginning to snap up Camry hybrids as they become available.

At Toyota of Sunnyvale, about 300 people are on the waiting list to get a Prius, creating a four- to six-month wait, owner Adam Simms said, while only about 40 are on the list for a Camry Hybrid, creating two- to three-month wait.

The Camry Hybrid gets 40 mpg in city driving and 38 mpg on the highway, according to its government fuel-economy label. It has a suggested starting price of $25,900.

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