By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
December 16, 2008
With the price of gasoline now well under $2 a gallon most places, Toyota has apparently decided the market for its Prius hybrid might not be what it once was. Published reports say the carmaker has put plans for a U.S. Prius plant on hold.
Originally, the new Toyota plant in Mississippi was scheduled to begin producing the popular hybrid in 2010, making it the first plant outside Asia to produce the Prius. But with gas prices low and car sales in a slump, the newly built plant will sit empty until the market recovers, according to Forbes Magazine.
The plant was originally conceived as a production facility for Toyota's full-sized pickup, the Tundra. But when gasoline prices surged earlier this year, Toyota shifted gears, deciding it needed for capacity to turn out the Prius.
At mid-year, when oil prices had spiked to $140 a barrel, Prius' were selling so fast that most Toyota dealers charged a hefty premium for them, over and above the sticker price.
The U.S. trend toward the Prius actually began in 2005. In April of that year, consumer interest in SUVs dropped sharply as people turned to more fuel-efficient vehicles. While truck-based SUVs were a traditional profit center for U.S. automakers, Toyota's U.S. sales rose strongly that year on the strength of its smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
But as sales of the Prius increased, so did http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/toyota_prius.html consumer complaints, despite the car's overall high ranking in customer satisfaction surveys.
