I hadn't seen this before - Production Doubles in August?

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/27/...5641653608.html

Oil prices mean it's cool to be seen to be green
By Joshua Dowling, Motoring Editor
May 28, 2004

A "geek-mobile" favoured by local councils and those seeking green credentials has become the coolest thing on four wheels.

Record high fuel prices have helped create a three-month waiting list for the petrol-electric Toyota Prius hybrid car. It is the first time in memory there has been a queue for an environmentally friendly vehicle.

"We've basically stopped advertising because all it does is disappoint people who go to a dealership to find they're all sold," said Vic Johnston, Toyota Australia's manager of alternative fuel vehicles.

He said the next three months' shipments - including seven cars on a freighter due to dock in Sydney this morning - are sold. Toyota Australia was taking up to 120 orders a month but is due to receive only 50 cars a month.

Being seen to be green is apparently more important than actually driving a fuel-efficient vehicle. Honda recently released an ultra-efficient Civic hybrid but sales are struggling because, analysts believe, it looks like a regular Civic sedan.

"The new Prius is as much about the look as it is about the technology," said Kim Rennick of market research firm Autopolis. "The fact that it looks different gives owners a talking point and a way to justify to their friends why they paid a premium."

Seventy per cent of private Prius sales have been of the more expensive model, which sells for $45,090, not the basic $36,990 model preferred by fleet buyers.

The dowdy original model was bought almost exclusively by government fleets but private buyers account for half of new Prius sales. About one-third of those traded in family sedans such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.

"That absolutely shocked us," said Johnston, who attributed the model's success to marketing that focused on fuel economy, not the environment. "We pushed the fuel economy message because it is a more rational decision."

Toyota plans to double production when a second Prius factory opens in Japan in August.

Ford and Nissan have recently signed an agreement to use the technology under licence.

Toyota Australia sold just 485 of the original Prius between 2001 and 2003; the latest model overtook that within six months.