3rd Generation Prius to Launch Spring of 2009

[efusco]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybri...News&rpc=44

TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009, industrial daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun said on Friday.

The world's biggest automaker has not officially announced the timing of the launch, but a consensus had built among industry watchers that the popular gasoline-electric car would be remodelled by late 2008.

The Nikkan Kogyo said Toyota decided to take more time to ensure quality after it decided to forgo replacing the nickel-metal hydride battery used in the hybrid system with a lithium-ion battery for the first version of the new model.

[Danny]

So, in the last hour this story has hit all of the new wires. I'm guessing they're all using the same source, but the more people that report it the more likely it seems to be real.

I wonder if this means Toyota will take a 2nd look at their decision to not use lithium-ion?

[Swanny1172]

I don't think Li-Ion technology is where it needs to be for Toyota to adopt it yet. Toyota isn't going to put something in the Prius that is not 100% reliable. Most people still see hybrids as a new and untested technology (we all know different ), so putting new batteries in that might have to be recalled later is not something Toyota wants to deal with -- especially if they are taking all of their models to a hybrid platform.

[Tech_Guy]

Toyota is in a very good position from a pure business perspective. They have a product which is selling very well in the marketplace with little competition. There is absolutely no incentive for them to produce a replacement vehicle for the current Prius until sales start to fall off. They appear to be taking advantage of the time to resolve issues with the next version of their hybrid vehicle. At the moment, the biggest issue facing Toyota (and everybody else) is developing an energy storage source (battery) that is very reliable and will not self-destruct.

Keith

[brad34695]

Is it too soon to put a deposit down on an '09 and get on a waiting list??

Brad


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 15 2007, 03:01 AM) [snapback]462158[/snapback]</div>

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybri...News&rpc=44

TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009, industrial daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun said on Friday.

The world's biggest automaker has not officially announced the timing of the launch, but a consensus had built among industry watchers that the popular gasoline-electric car would be remodelled by late 2008.

The Nikkan Kogyo said Toyota decided to take more time to ensure quality after it decided to forgo replacing the nickel-metal hydride battery used in the hybrid system with a lithium-ion battery for the first version of the new model.
[/b]

[Marlin]

Well, if it's to be the "2009 model", and it comes out in Spring '09, then it's delayed, regardless of the semantic games that Toyota wants to play. New car models almost exclusively come out in the 4th quarter of the year prior to their model year.

That said, I don't think it really makes much difference one way or the other.

[desertbriez]

hmmmmmmm i like this news..... cuz by spring of '09 i'll be able to justify trading up!

[Swampthing]

You gotta love how the industry focuses on the delay without a single mention of how all this advanced technology will result in 94 mpg new vehicle... nothing any auto manufacturer has out now or will have by then will even come close. But it's the delay that's important, right?

I had planned to upgrade my 2004 at that time, but I guess I'll just have to wait until Spring 2009. Seems like a long time away, but that's only about a year and nine months from now...

[tripp]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swampthing @ Jun 19 2007, 07:09 AM) [snapback]464591[/snapback]</div>

You gotta love how the industry focuses on the delay without a single mention of how all this advanced technology will result in 94 mpg new vehicle...
[/b]

That's 94 mpg by the Japanese numbers, which make the old EPA numbers seem conservative. The number I've heard bandied about is around 63 MPG, but I'm not sure how it was derived.

[Swampthing]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tripp @ Jun 19 2007, 10:05 PM) [snapback]465000[/snapback]</div>

That's 94 mpg by the Japanese numbers, which make the old EPA numbers seem conservative. The number I've heard bandied about is around 63 MPG, but I'm not sure how it was derived.
[/b]

Um no... Toyota is targeting 113 Japanese mpg which equates to about 94 US MPG. Sounds like your 63 mpg is either coming from the folks at Google who get 39 mpg with the current model or coming from sources tied to GM and the oil industry...

Source: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/11/ne...ry-and-113-mpg/