Toyota revealed today that over 29,000 people have pre-registered for the 2012 Prius Plug-In on Toyota's website. It looks like they anticipate a conversion rate of about 50% on those registrations, with a sales outlook of at least 16,000 plug-ins in 2012.
John Hanson told Bloomberg, “We think it’s going to be a strong seller and we’ll deliver to whatever level the market wants,” he said yesterday. “We’re certainly on line to sell 16,000 to 17,000 in 2012.”
If Toyota is able to sell 16,000 Prius Plug-Ins in 2012, that will add an additional 10% to the normal Prius sales (140,000 in 2010). With anticipated sales of the Prius v adding another 20% to Prius sales, Toyota is all of a sudden looking at total 2012 Prius sales in the range of 185,000 cars. That's a lot of new Prii on the road.
Toyota expects the Prius Plug-In to sell for $3,000 to $5,000 more than a standard version, which starts at $23,520, said Jana Hartline, a company spokeswoman. Hartline also added that the Prius Plug-In should qualify for a tax credit of at least $2,500.
If that additional cost is closer to $3,000 than $5,000, there will almost be no reason to purchase a traditional Prius if given the option. And that's Toyota's plan for 2012: lots of Prius options.
Source: Bloomberg
