The Toyota Prius was Japan's best-selling car in May, while the Honda Insight dropped from 1st place to 3rd place behind the Honda Fit.
"I think a green car tax break and other incentives helped the sales performance (of the Prius) quite a bit," Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer for the new Prius, told reporters in Toyota City, home to the automaker.
Shortages
It looks like Prius stock shortages are imminent in the Japanese market, with Toyota saying on its web site that factory shipment would be mid-November or later for orders made after May 31.
What does that mean for the US market? TMS USA Prius Product Manager Doug Coleman told me today not to worry. "The production for Japan and US are separate pools. We'll have plenty of supply coming in the US."
For now.
