2009 May Be Huge for Hybrid Cars

GCC is quoting a Nikkei report that Toyota will boost Prius production by 60% by 2009.

Toyota manufactured about 280,000 Priuses worldwide in 2007, up 33% on the year. Excluding some Chinese production, the car is assembled mainly at two major plants in Japan. Output capacity will be boosted at these facilities as the Prius gears up for a major redesign as early as next year.

Toyota assembled roughly 1.4 million Corollas and 900,000 Camry sedans in 2007. Had 450,000 units of the Prius been produced that year, the car would have been among the top five Toyota models.

That could mean another huge jump for hybrid car sales here in the US and worldwide. Prius car sales make up half the hybrid car marketplace right now. The Prius also cracked the top 10 list for cars sold in the US last year.

But since production was already to full, there was very little room for growth. Most analysts believe hybrid car sales this year will be capped because Toyota simply couldn't build any more than they already had. But in 2009, it looks like hybrid car sales could see another huge jump.

Yes, 2009 should be a huge year for hybrid cars. Honda will be releasing their global hybrid car, which some sites have Honda employees labeling the Prius killer. Add in the increased production numbers for the Prius and we could see a huge shift in the automotive marketplace.