Toyota plans to begin pumping Prius hybrids out of its now-idle Mississippi plant as early as June 2011, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper is reporting, along with Reuters. This could put the Mississippi plant online in time for the first new member of the Prius family (the FT-CH perhaps?). The $1.3-billion plant opened in 2007 and was initially slated to build Highlander crossovers. Last summer, the plant was delayed and reassigned to produce the third-generation Prius. But everything was once again thrown into the air when the plant was further postponed in December 2008 due to the slumping automotive sales sector. We've had all kinds of news coverage on the Mississippi plant here on PriusChat. Here are some good reads: Mississippi Prius Factory to Open "When the recovery hits full stride" Toyota to Finish Mississippi Plant, Produce Prius-branded Hybrids by 2011 Mississippi May Be Out For New Prius Factory; Miss. Newspaper Says "Uh uh!"
My niece just took delivery of an Imported New Car, a Mercury (Made By Ford) Milan Premier. An excellent value, and very nice car. Those Mexicans sure do build excellent cars. The last Mexican Mercury she owned was also a great car, she drove it for 12 years, and gave it to a relative it has 130K miles on it. The Prius is my first import and my second Prius is the 2010 which is a technological marvel. Who knows America may one day stage a car manufacturing comeback, the new Prius plant will certainly be a step in the right direction.
Makes sense... Toyota has a strong market for the Prius here in the U.S.A. and it appears that the Prius will continue to be a good seller. From an economic perspective it makes sense to assemble it here. These days with components coming from all over the world, even American brand cars (Ford & GM) can only say "Assembled in America". Keith
That means pricing in Canada for a Prius should drop 6% There is a 6% import duty on cars not made in NA
