Honda racked up an impressive 21,000 Insight pre-orders in Japan before the budget hybrid hit the market earlier this year, but Toyota is expecting to nearly double that figure with its third-generation Prius. The 2010 Prius will hit the Japanese market within the next few weeks.
According to Reuters, Toyota expects Prius pre-orders to top 40,000 in Japan. The Japanese automaker has already taken more than 20,000 orders for the ’10 model. Toyota sold 73,000 examples of the current car in Japan last year.
Pricing has yet to be officially announced for the 2010 Prius, but the world’s most popular hybrid is expected to list from $20,750 in Japan. Toyota will also sell the current-generation Prius alongside the new model to better compete with the Honda Insight .
Toyota plans to sell 400,000 units of the Prius globally this year, with the U.S. accounting for the bulk of that figure.
