Toyota denies decision has been made to build Prius in U.S. at joint GM plant
Responding to a Tokyo Shimbun story that said discussions with GM were underway, Toyota says that no decision has been made about potentially building the Prius at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), the joint Toyota-GM plant in California. The AP reports that Toyota is stepping back from the rumor that the Prius could be built in North America for the first time. The Prius is currently made in Japan and China. Officially, Toyota's statement said, "We are always considering the best places for production, but nothing has been decided about producing the Prius at NUMMI." We do know that Toyota will build two new hybrid battery plants (and expand a third) in Japan for increased hybrid vehicle production. If the Shimbun story is true, then major components (like those batteries) would be shipped to NUMMI for final assembly. Something tells me we'll hear more about this in the future.
[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd), AP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Luke 2:09PM (5/30/2008)
When is Sebastian Blanco going to write an article having something to do with the Prius? Oh wait.....never mind.
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Taser 2:19PM (5/30/2008)
Luke, how do you type with one hand?
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bigbenaugust 3:05PM (5/30/2008)
It would save Toyota billions in shipping costs. No ships or trains needed, just drive them all right off the line in Fremont and across the bay to the eager buyers in Palo Alto and San Francisco!
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Luke 7:17PM (5/30/2008)
Taser, your camera is on the wrong guy, but at least we know what you're doing.
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Chris M 4:26AM (5/31/2008)
It is inevitable that Toyota will have to start making the Prius in the US, the potential savings can't be ignored. However, it might not be at NUMMI, Toyota has other US factories.
NUMMI does produce the Matrix/Vibe models, a hybrid version of those would be great. (hint, hint, Toyota)
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