Toyota planning a less-expensive hybrid to rival the Honda Insight
By Andrew C., 26 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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There are reports saying that the Japanese automaker Toyota intends to design a new and less-expensive hybrid to rival the Honda Insight. The new gasoline-electric model will sell as early as 2011 in Japan and will come with a price tag below 2 million yen ($20,510) which will result in the escalation of the price war in hybrid cars. The Honda Insight hatch, which was launched in Japan last month at 1.89 million yen, garnered, for the first month, orders for 18,000 cars, three times its 5,000 units monthly target. It is reported that Toyota will reduce the price of its new model by 20-30 percent that of the current Prius hybrid, which begins at 2.33 million yen by modifying Prius components. This upcoming hybrid will be sub-compact with an engine smaller than the 1.5-liter unit of the Prius. To match the Honda Insight, Toyota intends to sell a 1.8-liter engined Prius beginning this May with a price tag of 2.05 million yen.
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