I just received this RSS feed from Toyota's website, concerning their third quarter financial results. The article mentions the 3rd gen Prius. Here's the paragraph concerning the Prius: "For the mid-term, we plan to enhance the development of hybrid and compact vehicles which we believe are the key to our future growth. For example, our new generation Prius will launch in May, followed by Lexus’ first exclusive hybrid vehicle, the HS250h this summer. We are also thoroughly reviewing our entire business to reduce costs across the board. We are aiming to implement a more effective cost structure in the areas of research & development, production and sales operations. Specifically, we plan to expand the scope of our emergency value analysis to achieve further cost reduction and reduce fixed costs by 10%. By taking these measures, we will overcome the current crisis and evolve into a company with a higher level of efficiency and resilience.†I wonder if that is a worldwide release or a Japan specific release. What do you guys and gals think?
They've always noted that the vehicles should begin to leave the factory in April. I'd say that May for the very first arrivals here on the W Coast is likely. For the E Coast and maybe Gulf States I'd feel safe in saying June in the stores for the first arrivals. It's just a matter of logistics.
The first day of production for the 2010's is April 20th 2009. That's what I was told as well as it looks realistic that we may begin to see our cars (for those of us who got the pre-order) mid to late May, even on the east coast.
So, according to what I read and understand, the people who pre-ordered will receive their cars first and people like me who are on the waiting list will get their chance soon after.