TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The Toyota Motor Co. says it is increasing production of its popular gasoline-electric Prius hybrid by 50 percent to meet global demand.
The second-generation Prius sedan, which is larger and more powerful than the original Prius, has been a surprise hit for Toyota, which is boosting production from 10,000 vehicles a month to 15,000 units.
The Prius has a suggested list price of $21,000, but many buyers are paying a premium to get one. It's the second time Toyota has increased production of the car.
Toyota planned to send about 36,000 hybrids to the North American market from Japan when it introduced the 2004 model in mid-October. Now that number will be increased to about 80,000 Prius sedans this year.
Toyota sold 5,230 Prius hybrids during the month of July.
"Clearly the extraordinary response to Prius took us by surprise," said Don Esmond, Toyota USA's senior vice president and general manager.
The Prius gets about 55 miles per gallon on combined city-highway driving. The name is Latin for "to go before."
