Shanghai. March 6 (Gasgoo.com) - FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co announced to cut the price of its Chinese-made Prius hybrid car by up to eight percent to help reverse flat sales, local Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily reported.
The newspaper said the second generation Prius hybrid now costs 259,800 yuan (US$36,500), compared with 282,200 yuan ($39,414) before. Price of Navigation edition of the model has also dropped by 22,200 yuan ($3,100) to 279,800 yuan ($39,078).
This is Toyota's first price cut on Prius cars since the model started to be produced in Sichuan Toyota Motor Co began in 2005.
FAW Toyota sold only 414 Prius hybrid vehicles in 2007, compared to 2,152 units in 2006. Margins on the car are believed to be thinner due to the high cost of the hybrid system.
In Japanese market Toyota has decided to postpone the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid model by half a year to the spring of 2009.
Gasgoo: auto parts source
