TOKYO (Thomson Financial) -- Japan's Toyota is in talks with General Motors about producing the hybrid Prius at their joint production venture in California, a newspaper today. If they reach an agreement, it would be the first time that the Prius -- the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle -- is made in the United States, the Tokyo Shimbun said, without naming sources. Toyota may produce Prius cars at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), a venture established by the two groups in 1984 that currently makes Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, it said. The Japanese company plans to ship key components from Japan and assemble them at the venture in Fremont, Calif., where demand for environmentally friendly cars is high, the newspaper said. A Toyota spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the report, saying: "As usual, we don't comment on the details of negotiations, but nothing has been decided yet on the reported NUMMI case." Toyota aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year from the early 2010s. It currently produces the Prius in Japan and China. The automaker said this month sales of the Prius had topped one million vehicles since the launch in Japan in 1997, followed by North America, Europe and elsewhere in 2000.
I can't help but wonder if GM will end up with a re-badged Prius. Like the old Prizm / Corolla or the current Pontiac Vibe / Matrix (Corolla)
OMG don't let GM into this deal, by 2010 we will be seeing Prius' being sold using left over Hummer bodies that GM could never sell. LOL
More likely that GM (as well as other large truck makers) will be forced to recycle all the unsold trucks and Hummers much like Mazda did with those cars from the car carrying ship that almost sunk...
Please no. Why let GM mess up a good thing. Don't they realize once GM gets their fingers in something it goes to hell?
GM bashing aside (the article says the plant produces the Corolla and the Matrix, both excellent TOYOTA cars), this is welcome news for Canadians looking to purchase in the US, as, under NAFTA, it would rid us of the 6.1% duty currently imposed on the Prius.
They make the Corolla, Pontiac Vibe (twin of the Matrix) and Tacoma per what we make. I've taken a tour of the plant before. The guy who did the initial intro mentioned that the Toyota Matrix is made elsewhere (in Ontario).
Bingo! well said. Gas prices, here in Orange County, CA hit $4.45/gal for Regular. June4_2008 en Flickr: ¡Intercambio de fotos!
That's the reason I don't buy any Toyota with a VIN starts with 1. Quality of Toyota cars are getting worse, and I am absolutely sure it's because of these Joint Ventures.
I think one should be very careful when trying to compare the coutry of origin to suposed quality. My Prius replaced an 8-year-old Indiana-built Honda Civic with 153k miles that never had a problem. I'm still having second thoughts of replacing it. I had a Chevy Lumina built (I think) in country that worked just fine. My first car was a Mexican-built Mercury Tracer (re-baged Mazda 323) and I'll always regret selling it. I drove a Dodge Dakota for work that needed a new rear differential at 20k miles. Can't remember where that disaster of a vehicle was built. Look at VW. Once the leader in car innovation and quality, it's gone down the crapper the past five or so years. The point is, just because a car is made in the US doesn't mean it's going to be a POS and just because it's built elsewhere doesn't garauntee a quality product. I drove Chevy trucks for many years at work and loved them. While Chevy doesn't have any cars that apeal to me now, I look at the GM/Toyota venture as a welcome development. Time will tell, but I suspect it will work out just fine for both companies and, more importantly, consumers.
