Hybrid Car, Toyota Prius, surpasses 100,000 sales

Worldwide sales of the hybrid car, Toyota Prius, have surpassed the 100,000 car marker. In addition, Toyota has announced that it will increase production on the Prius to 100,000 for the U.S. market alone.

In a press release issued by Toyota today, Senior V.P. and general manager Don Esmond said, "With this significant increase in allocation for 2005, Prius will become one of our top-selling passenger cars as it continues to solidify its position as a mainstream vehicle. As a testament to its remarkable popularity here in the U.S., over one-half of total worldiwde Prius production will be targeted for the U.S. market. We are hopeful that this latest increase will help alleviate the delivery delays many customers have been experiencing."

The press release states that Toyota has sold more that a quarter million hybrid vehicles since the Prius was introduced to the world as the world's first mass-produced hybrid car. Many other hybrid models have only been sold in Japan, such as hybrid vans, trucks, small buses, and luxury sedans.