As I begin my research into the history of hybrid cars, it appears that it all started in 1993 when Toyata began working on the car that became the most popular hybrid today - the Prius. You can read all of the details in an article here, where after several years of problems and corrections, Toyota unveiled the Prius in October of 1997 in Japan. Three months later the Prius went on sale.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2000 that the Prius made its debut in the United States, a full seven months behind the first-to-market Honda Insight. The price of the first available U.S. version of the Prius (as a 2001 model rollout) was about $20,000, and 12,000 were sold to the first 37,000 interested buyers who had preregistered on a special Toyota website.
In 2003, Toyota released the second-generation Prius in the U.S. With it’s unique hatchback style, more powerful engine, better fuel economy, and reduced emissions - sales soared. 54,000 Prius vehicles were sold in 2004 and 108,000 sold in 2005. Prius had made it, and was one of the most popular cars on the market.
U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles rose another 28% from 2005 to 2006, with consumers buying over 250,000 hybrids…105,000 of those were Toyota Prius vehicles. In 2007, Prius sales in the U.S. are expected to exceed 175,000. 2008 Prius are set to hit dealer lots this month (August 2007) with a base sticker price similar to last year at $26,000. Already, thousands of people are searching for the totally redesigned 2009 Prius as well. The Toyota Prius will be on my short list, as my 2007 hybrid journey continues!
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