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Toyota to Raise its Vehicle Prices Without Model Changes Since 1992
:: 28 July, 2008
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering raising prices in Japan of its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car and luxury models, company officials said.
The Japanese auto industry leader is expected to raise prices by one to 3 pct on average due to soaring costs of raw materials such as steel, informed sources said.
The company is likely to make a final decision as early as August and start introducing new pricing by the end of this year, the sources said.
It will be the first time for Toyota to raise its vehicle prices without model changes since 1992, when the company increased prices for some commercial vehicles.
Unlike the United States, it is unusual for Japanese automakers to raise prices without remodeling. But other Japanese automakers are highly likely to follow suit as they also struggle with higher costs.
Toyota seems to be finding it easy to raise the prices of the Prius and luxury models because their sales are apparently less vulnerable to a price increase than other lineups including smaller cars.
The Prius is in short supply because of its strong demand. Higher materials prices take a heavier toll on the Prius than on other models because the hybrid car uses a lot of rare metals, of which prices are rising steeply.
About Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a hybrid electric mid-size car developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation.
The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2001. The Prius is sold in more than 40 countries and regions, with its largest markets being those of Japan and North America.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the 2008 Prius is the most fuel efficient car sold in the U.S.
According to the UK Department for Transport, the Prius is tied as the third least CO2-emitting vehicle on sale in the UK, and their are eight cars which are more fuel-efficient than it for the combined use cycle.
The Prius' onboard GPS navigation system (as well as other models, such as the Lexus, which use the same technology) is designed so that destinations cannot be entered while the vehicle is in motion. According to the owner's manual, this is done for the driver's own safety (so that he is not distracted by trying to operate the navigation system while driving the car). However, this feature has caused considerable complaints from many owners who travel with a passenger and who want to have the passenger operate the navigation system while the driver is driving. Some owners claim that this actually increases the danger, as pulling off a highway onto the shoulder to enter a destination and then attempting to merge back into traffic going at highway speeds may be more dangerous than simply having the passenger enter data while the driver concentrates on driving.
On Toyota Prius with model years 2005 and earlier, it is possible to override this lock-out by pressing the onscreen volume button in the menu and then tapping the upper left, lower left, upper left, lower left corners of the screen in that order. Once that is done correctly a new menu will appear and all you have to do is hold down the override button until it beeps. However, in 2007, the override was removed for liability reasons].
Some consumers] are attempting to start a petition to have the override functionality restored, many of them claiming that they were falsely informed that the override functionality was still present and that they would not have purchased the vehicle if they knew of this limitation.
