Toyota foresees a day when its expanding family of Prius hybrid vehicles will outsell the Camry, its top-selling vehicle in the U.S., executives said at a marketing event for the new Prius v in Ypsilanti, Mich.
This fall, Toyota is launching the Prius v, a mid-size station wagon that is aimed at families who need more space than the compact Prius can offer. The Prius v will be followed early next year with a plug-in version of the Prius and a subcompact version of the Prius should be on sale by mid-2012.
That will bring the Prius family to a total of four hyrid cars.
"As Corolla and Camry have defined our past, and will continue to be important, the Prius family... will define our future," said Ed La Rocque, Toyota's national marketing manager of advanced technology vehicles. "We could see Prius eventually leading Toyota sales in the U.S."
Toyota's continued enthusiasm for hybrids has been questioned by some, who point out that U.S. industry sales of hybrid and plug-in cars declined in 5% in 2010 to 274,175 when gas prices moderated.
Also in 2010, Toyota sold 327,804 Camry's in the U.S. -- more than twice the 140,928 Priuses it sold.
But IHS Automotive analyst Aaron Bragman said Toyota's goal is realistic, especially as the automotive industry introduces more vehicles designed to help the automakers meet stricter fuel economy standards by 2016.
"This is going to be the new standard," Bragman said of the Prius v. "In the near future, hybrids are going to be a lot more ubiquitous."
With three more Prius models coming to the U.S., La Rocque also said Toyota will likely need to produce the Prius in the U.S.
"If we want to continue to expand and grow sales, we are going to need production capability in the states," La Rocque said.
Toyota had planned to produce the Prius at its new plant in Blue Springs, Miss. but then changed course in 2009. This fall, Toyota will begin producing the Corolla at that plant.
La Rocque said the Prius v is designed to provide Toyota with a vehicle for current Prius owners who have families and need more space.
Toyota says the "v"" stands for versatility -- not five -- and has 50% more interior cargo space than the current Prius. The station wagon is six inches longer, 3.3 inches taller and has a wheel base that is 3 inches wider than the Prius hatchback.
Compared with the smaller and lighter Prius, which gets a combined 50 miles per gallon, the Prius v will get 44 miles per gallon.
Toyota expects the Prius v will go on sale in the U.S. in October -- about a month later than initially expected -- and will cost slightly more than the Prius hatchback. Starting prices for the Prius hatchback range from $23,520 to $28,790.
La Rocque said the delay was caused by the March 11th earthquake in Japan that temporarily shut down Toyota's assembly plants. That earthquake left Toyota with shortage of many models, including Prius.
In May, Prius sales sank 51.4% as its days supply of the car fell to 10 compared with analysts' recommended 60-day level. This month, La Rocque said Toyota is down to about a three-day supply of Prius.
But La Rocque said Toyota's inventory has hit bottom and should begin to improve soon. Toyota's North American vehicle production levels are expected to return to 100 percent in September and have already returned to 90% globally.
"The good news for us is the overall capacity shouldn't be impacted, so availability should be good in the fourth quarter for the Prius v here in the U.S."
