http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=121655
Date posted: 07-11-2007
NEW YORK CITY — Toyota Motor North America President Jim Press forecasts that hybrids will become the mainstream cars of the future and calls the company's Prius hybrid "the forerunner." Quoted by Bloomberg News, Press says the popular Prius will be seen as similar to "the Model T when you look back."
He also commented that people are not buying "gas-guzzler" vehicles "for image any longer." This is interesting in light of a report by CNW Marketing Research that showed 57 percent of Prius buyers choosing the hybrid car largely because of its image.
To date, hybrids make up slightly more than 2 percent of vehicles sold in the United States. However, more than half of Toyota's 1 million hybrids sold worldwide to date have been sold in the U.S., and Toyota Motor Sales has targeted a quarter-million hybrid sales in 2007.
What this means to you: Toyota has already made it clear that its own future planning is going increasingly toward hybrids — the next several years should show whether the vision is accurate.
Print | posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 12:38 PM