Well, maybe "soon" is a bit of an overstatement.
But Jim Lentz, the president of Toyota's U.S. arm, recently told Ward's Auto News that sales of the Prius--the best-selling hybrid in the U.S. market--could grow to equal those of the Toyota Camry sometime this decade.
The Toyota Camry, including its own Camry Hybrid model, has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 11 of the past 12 years. Its best year was in 2007, when 473,000 were sold. That same year, 181,000 Prius models found buyers, also a record.
Lentz told Ward's that he expects to sell about 140,000 of the 50-MPG 2010 Toyota Prius this year. Those sales, of course, were helped somewhat by this summer's Cash for Clunkers program.
And while global demand remains high for the Prius, Lentz said Toyota still plans to build the Prius at its plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi. But, he emphasized, work on that factory will only resume when consumer demand recovers with the economy.
He also denied recent reports that more than one Prius body style will be sold in the U.S.--despite numerous recent photos of a 2011 Toyota Prius station wagon that will likely be offered in Asian markets--saying that Japanese headquarters had not approved any new models.
To which we would add: Yet.
