Hi all, When I read this article (which is based off the main toyota site), I had mixed feelings. While I am happy that Prius can be made more readily and be available to all who want one. I still feel even with Toyota's high standards, that the quality will decrease. To be honest, I would rather have a Japanese-American made prius, then a Chinese-Japanese made prius..what are your thoughts? Anybody running out to purchase the Japananese made ones before, the stamped "made in China" goes on our beloved Prius? ( and yes, I am aware that nothing is compeltely made in Japan....but talking about the main parts...ohh say the hybrid engine..the electronics..sigh**) Toyota’s Prius to be Assembled in China | deszin.net
If Toyota truly goes threw with this I feel it will be the demise of the Prius as we know it Not only will quality control drop but the Chinese will undoubtedly send there spies into the plant to steal all the info and make a knockoff Prius of some sorts. Probably call it a Brius or a Prios so people will not notice we will start to see them for sale in flee markets and swap meets all over the country
No need for flee-markets, the Chinese Prius will be free to employees of US defense contractors and will include unlimited and constant satellite transmission to the far side of the planet.
old news from March. Bad translation. Made in China for export to greater Asia not the US. Newer link. New Toyota Prius Postponed for China | CarNewsChina.com - China Auto News
As I recall, currently 'Asian' Prius are made in Thailand. http://www.insideline.com/toyota/prius/toyota-building-prius-in-thailand.html
Prius and Camry Hybrid assembled in Thailand for Thai market. Toyota kicks off Prius production in Thailand — Autoblog Green My live Chinese translator says Gen II production stopped maybe a year and a half ago. So they read from some Chinese site. Poor sales. Try to read this in English Made a new Prius is difficult to defer to the end of the introduction of core technology - - China News
Hi James, This article was from May 22..and it states the following.. "Toyota and an undisclosed Chinese primarily based manufacturing provider have sealed a deal exactly where the two firms will probably be operating with each other to create the Prius for globally export." - So is the article inaccurate and Toyota never had any intention of producing Prius for global export from China? - I guess either way, your new information seems to indicate that Toyota has given up on going that route due to low Chinese demand for the prius and the lack of government subsidies.
Pretty sure the iPod is made in china. so are PS3's, and TV's and just about everything else. the country of manufacture is not important.
A lot of companies are assembling in China for local market because of high import duty rates. Honda, Buick, VW, Peugeot, Renault, Mercedes. had a Shanghai Buick, (standard black of course) when I was working there, and the build quality was quite alright. Others had Hondas and VW's, pretty good from what I hear, a friend had a Peugeot he quite liked. The local brands can be quite another story, I attribute that to design rather than build quality. Had a Landwind SUV, copy of an Isuzu Rodeo, build quality was ok, but an old design. But then what did I expect for a well equipped suv, (leather seats, power everything, etc) for 12 grand US.
This My car in Shanghai is Honda and which build at Guangzhou Honda. I put on 150,000km run still strong and build quality is top notch! My wife uses to drove Accord which build by Guangzhou Honda she drove 200,000Km and no problem! This is up to manufacture quality control. BUT Hybrid is not popular in China. Prius is failed in China because Hybrid and price point. Also Camry Hybrid is available for past few month from Guangzhou Toyota but not popular at all. If Toyota bring Estima Hybrid to China I will buy it but I bet price will be around 70K US$! due to Taxes! So again I will put deposit on Honda end of this year. FYI Fully loaded Sienna is about 55k to 60kUS$ in China
