Set for launch late next year?

Last month, Toyota Prius sales were down 10 percent. Not bad, considering that October was one of the worst months ever in auto sales. And, while hybrid cars have helped Toyota’s sales strength the last few years, this recession is greatly hurting Toyota.

“At least there’s no red ink at the moment. But if the situation deteriorates we could be looking at that,” said Ashvin Chotai, managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia reports the AFP.

Thus, “Planned factories, existing facilities, new projects; they [Toyota] are reviewing all of them,” said Toyota executive vice president Mitsuo Kinoshita.

If US auto buyers can’t afford anything but the cheapest cars, amidst declining gas prices, hybrid sales will take a hit. Such a hit, I’ll bet, could easily delay the launch of the 2010 Toyota Prius few months, and slow the launch of any consumer-orientated plug-in hybrids from Toyota as well. And that new Lexus hybrid? Why be in a rush when Lexus hybrid sales got hammered last month?

Tags: prius, lexus, toyota, ford

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By - Hybrid Guy
Bio: My fascination for hybrid cars came about long ago. I've been living green before gas hit $1/gallon. It's really a way of life and I hope I can share with you all I know about Hybrid Cars.
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