Toyota Prius Records 1000 Sales in Australia Toyota’s Prius hybrid vehicle has passed the 1000 sales mark in Australia. Local sales of the second generation Prius - launched in October 2003 - have already exceeded total local sales of the first model. Toyota sold 512 of the current Prius model in its first eight months on sale, compared to 489 sales of the previous model in 24 months. Toyota executive director of sales and marketing, Dave Buttner, said the result - achieved with restricted supply - confirmed that current Prius was a “hot item†with private buyers.
Yes, the Prius supply into Oz is only a dribble - currently only 3 per month make it into Perth (west coast). I was lucky enough to get mine before the rush - even then I waited 2 months. There were some national TV ads at the end of 2003 but all types of ads have stopped now, so the general population are mainly unaware of the Prius, which relieves the local Toyota distributor from a bit of pressure. I heard that the production line is flat out supplying US and Europe. Anyway, for those in Oz that are ordering the wait isn't as severe as some in the US. The situation for private buyers is also affected by some fleet orders, which will just make it worse. Toyota's timing (oil prices) has been perfect but they don't currently have the means of extracting the full benefits - they must hope that the market doesn't go cold in the meantime! kenmac
Actually it's around 4 months now. We get to place a factory order for the option and color we want (only 2 options tho, #3 and #9 essentially), and know it's not going to be horse traded along the way. Mine should be on the boat now (arrives at the dealer on the 28th). No market markups either. I still managed to squeeze a "deal" below the list price.
despite a price hike, wow I'm impressed. 13,000 cars in total? They're on our tail. We have 14,000 owners here in Canada.
