News from PRNewswire/Yahoo Finance:
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A, Inc., today announced a 31 percent increase in production of its all-new, second-generation Prius gas-electric hybrid sedan to help meet the vehicle's heavy demand in the U.S. market.
The original Prius production plan for 2004 calendar year was 36,000 units. With 12,000 pre-orders received before the vehicle launched in mid- October and approximately 10,000 units delivered in its first six weeks on sale, it became necessary to boost Prius production to 47,000 units annually.
"This is all about customer satisfaction," said Don Esmond, TMS senior vice president and general manager. "With record-shattering sales in both October and November, and no sign of demand letting up, it became clear we had underestimated our early sales projections. If 47,000 units is still too low, another request for additional production from our Tsutsumi Plant in Toyota City, Japan may be necessary."
Prius (the name comes from the Latin "to go before") was the world's first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle when introduced in Japan in 1997 (2000 in the U.S. market). It has since become the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the world. Improved in every metric of comparison, the second-generation, 2004 Prius is the first hybrid vehicle to provide the room, comfort and features of a midsize sedan.
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