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Prius 2010 & My General Observations in Japan

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Yonessyo, Nov 30, 2009.

  1. Yonessyo

    Yonessyo New Member

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    A month ago (early November), my wife and I went to her hometown, Toyota-shi. As you may have guessed, yes, this is the center of the Toyota factories in Japan. The city actually changed it's name to Toyota, from it's orginal name Koromo, because of the company Toyota. Anyways, I was in Japan for two weeks, one week solely in Toyota-shi. There has been articles published stating the high demand of 2010 Prius in Japan, and that many orders are back-logged until March/April. These were my (eye-ball/non-scientific) Prius observations.

    Popularity of 2010 Prius:
    From what I can tell, it's true. In Toyota, and throughout other parts of Japan, I noticed a high proportion of 2010 vs 2004-2009 models. Out of every 5 Prius that I saw, 2 of them were 2010. Pretty much, almost half of the Prius that exist were 2010. (This was even more evident in Toyota-shi.) What does this mean? The 2010 are extremely popular in Japan. This was never the case for the 2004-2009, quote my wife, and her family.

    Package V:
    Another observation, most Prius 2010 were package V. Out of all the Prius 2010 that I saw (and there were many, over 80), only 2 were not a package V.

    Solar Roof:
    Only saw one with a solar roof.

    Color Selection:
    The most popular colors were black, silver, white, in that order. Suprisingly enough, I saw a decent number of, light blue, light pink, and light purple 2010 Priuses. I didn't see any blue-ribbon or winter-grey. There were a very small number of reds.

    That's about it. Wish I would have had a chance to take some pictures of them. Was on the road, or they either zoomed past me pretty quickly before I could take the camera out. I have other non-prius Japan related pics though if interested. :)
     
    #1 Yonessyo, Nov 30, 2009
    6 people like this.
  2. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

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    For a car that was once considered odd and only for a small group of individuals the Prius has become a mainstream vehicle in many areas.
    Here in La Mesa there are a large number but I was recently in Tucson and the number of Prii is amazing, at least one or two houses on blocks in the area around UofA has a Prius in it's yard and you don't go to any shopping mall/strip mall without seeing 1-3 in the lot at any given time.
    I am happy with my car. If my 2010 is as good as my 2005 was........
     
    #2 Salsawonder, Nov 30, 2009
  3. equake

    equake Member

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    A Purple Prius? Thats a Hybrid grape if ever I see one :)

    I live in LA and I have not seen many 2010s but I know they are being sold wildly. Out of 5 maybe 1 all the others are older models. I believe the 2007 model is the most popular but by this time next year I am certain the Gen III will easily overtake this popularity.
     
    #3 equake, Nov 30, 2009
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Iceberg Silver Mica Metallic.

    So it appears it's mostly a look and performance thing.

    S Touring and G Touring models (and I guess G Touring w/ Leather) are the models with the 17" alloys, LEDs and Euro-tuned suspension (i.e. the suspension setup we get in North America).

    Also I'm guessing the LEDs are a huge seller. I can't tell the difference between and S Touring and a G Touring from the outside. All of the differences are in the inside (Cruise Control, Front Footwell Lighting, 3-Door Smart Entry & Smart Start, Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel)
     
    #4 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2009
  5. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    FYI,
    My cumulative sales data in Japan is 329k Gen2 and 131k Gen3.
    If you judge it seeing the front foglamps, that's wrong assumption.
    All Japanese models, except low-end L model, have the front foglamps.
    Following is initial one month order ratio among 180k Gen3 Prius.
    L: 13% (no fog)
    S: 50%
    S Touring: 15%
    G: 11%
    G Touring: 7%
    G Turing Leather: 4%

    Ken@Japan
     
    #5 ken1784, Dec 1, 2009
  6. ManualOnly

    ManualOnly New Member

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    I guess credit should also go to Japanese government's Green Stimulus Package since Apr'09 which includes subsidized pricing for for environment-friendly vehicles + lower tax for efficient car owners.

    What surprises me is how quickly Prius has grown to become a main-stream vehicle in Japan itself. The 2010 had continued to hold pole-position in national sales ranking since May, trashing Insight2, the ever-popular minivan Wish and even the long-reining Honda Jazz.

    Toyota even had to issue apology on the delays with backlogs of waiting list.
     
    #6 ManualOnly, Dec 1, 2009
  7. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    So all but one model have the 17" wheels?
     
    #7 32kcolors, Dec 1, 2009
  8. spinkao

    spinkao New Member

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    Most likely-for example, here in Europe only the cheapest model (and the models with the solar roof) come on the 15" wheels. All others are on 17" by default. Regarding foglamps, even the cheapest model has them - we cannot buy a Prius without the foglamps (they are not mandatory by law, but Toyota appearently decided not to sell sans-foglamp models here). I assume it will be the same or similar in Japan, although Ken will surely tell you more.
     
    #8 spinkao, Dec 1, 2009
  9. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    L, S and G models come with 15" wheels and halogen head lamps, and the solar option is available on S and G.
    All X Touring models come with 17" wheels and LED head lamps, and the solar option is not available.
    JP Prius equipment (Japanese language only)

    Ken@Japan
     
    #9 ken1784, Dec 1, 2009
  10. Yonessyo

    Yonessyo New Member

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    Thanks Ken,

    That clarifies a lot. I based my assumptions on the P-V regarding foglamps, and from what I can tell, 17 inch rims (this was harder to tell, especially when cars were zooming by.) But yes, the whole Package V item doesn't apply, since it seems, Prius 2010s are built differently in Japan than the US.
     
    #10 Yonessyo, Dec 1, 2009
  11. jukeboy

    jukeboy New Member

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    there are US-only colors such as winter gray and 2 Japan-only shades of blue, of which I believe one was used in the 5-axis (aerius/altius) prius at sema

    (refer here for colors)
     
    #11 jukeboy, Dec 1, 2009
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Negative. Aerius/Aemulus were painted a custom colour. The Light Blue Metallic is quite light (lighter than Seaside Pearl). The other is light purple (Iceberg Silver Mica Metallic)

    All the information is available here on PriusChat :)

    http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...andard-optional-equipment-some-countries.html
     
    #12 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2009
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Guess we shouldn't be surprised that the S is the best selling model. There isn't much incentive to move up to a G unless you want cruise control.
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2009
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...andard-optional-equipment-some-countries.html

    Download the Excel spreadsheet that I made to make quick comparisons between countries.
     
    #14 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2009
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