In a normal world, an automaker wants to time the announcement of a new car just right: In time to build anticipation. Not too early, because that would hurt sales of last year’s models. In Japan, they keep things simple and have the press event the day the car goes on sale. Today, I was at a press event in Tokyo that celebrated the Prius Alpha, a bigger, roomier minivanish Prius that can seat 7. If you’d order it today, you would get your car in a distant future, in April 2012. No typo. 11 months from now. Next year.
Welcome to the new world of post-tsunami car launches.
When asked today when the car will be delivered, Chief Engineer Hiroshi Kayukawa said: “Well, we are trying to get our production up and in order, and having received so many orders in advance, we want to do this as quickly as possible, and it looks like it’s going to be April 2012.”
Instead of a tsunami, a ripple ran through the audience, assembled in a pavilion in the garden of the Tokyo Prince Hotel, where the members of the media were treated to the first samples of hot and humid Tokyo weather with the A/C turned to barely bearable. Perspiration for a powerless nation.
That’s how Prius Alpha is written correctly, by the way, hold the trademark suits, Alfa.
“You said April twothousandtwelve?” asked an incredulous reporter. “Is that related to the earthquake crisis kind of thing? Is that the problem?” Under fire, the Chief Engineer says: “Well, ok, now, originally we were planning to launch this in late April. The launch event has been set back a couple of weeks. So in that sense, there is a direct relationship to the natural disaster. However, in terms of actual production, we have all the parts lined up, we are ready to make it.” More flabbergastedness.
Here is what we could unearth at the sidelines of the first launch event of a car that will become available a little less than a year later: The Prius Alpha will be made at the Tsutsumi plant in Toyota city on line 1. On the same line, the Prius and other sedans are being made. There is such a backlog of orders for the Prius and other cars that the fabulous new guy Prius Alpha will have to take a number and wait for its turn.
And it’s getting even more complicated, as are a lot of things in the post-tsunami age. 25,000 orders for this car had been received, and some of them may already have been filled, I heard today from Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. I told you it’s complicated.
But if I would go down to my neighborhood Toyota dealer in Tokyo and say “sumimasen, I’d like to buy that new Prius Alpha,” I would be told to expect delivery sometime in April next year.
The U.S. launch, originally planned for June this year, most likely will become a victim of this situation. But who knows, maybe the Prius Alpha will be launched in the U.S. in June, and will arrive at dealerships see volume shipments arriving in May 2012? Now mind you, this was a JDM event, and great pains were taken not to talk about anything American (or European, for that matter.) All speculations are strictly mine.
If the March 11 earthquake could shift the main island of Japan by 8 feet, you can be sure that it will cause many other shifts. Including many extra shifts.
PS: Toyota U.S.A. said later in the day “that the Prius v is still on track for delivery to U.S. customers this fall.” The Prius Alpha will be called Prius V in the U.S.
Isn’t this the same as the Prius V, just with a third row and the wheel on the wrong side? I’m attending a drive event for the Prius V on June 21st.
It’s the same.
Some people I met today are not so sure you will.
I thought it was only the 3 row version with the big delay?
Well, third row and a different (lithium) battery pack that’ll let that third row fit.
i am pondering if this product will be the solution to an unasked question.
If the unasked question is ‘We have a current gen Prius, and we love it, but our family’s getting bigger and we need more room’, then yeah, I’d imagine so.
I own a 2008 Prius. I gas it up about once a month, if that. My main complaint is that having my iPhone plugged into the USB charger and Audio AUX simultaneously gives me a distinct hum on the audio in. Other than that, not complaining, but if we have kids, I’d want something bigger.
I anticipate the answer to be, yes here is a 3rd row, for only $7k more. what a bargain?
You can fix that pretty cheaply with a ground loop isolator and the right adapters (most isolators have RCA inputs and outputs so you’ll need a cable or adapter to swap that to the 1/8th in/outs). Had to do this for my own car since I added an aux in via an adapter only to find that I could hear the alternator through the speakers (faintly) and lots of noise when I plugged things in to charge.
I think some companies even make 1/8th (headphone jack) isolators so you don’t have to have a bunch of RCA and headphone jack adapters everywhere. Just google for it and you’ll see a whole bunch for under $15. Best buy sometimes carries it in their car audio installation department (usually the actual installers have it in the back of the store) but I don’t think they have the 3.5mm to 3.5mm kind.
If that unasked question is:
What already has 25000 pre orders in Japan before launch?
Then yes.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/13/toyota-prius-idUSL3E7GD0KJ20110513
It was said previously that Toyota wouldn’t be back to normal until the end of the year, but it’s sounding like the showrooms won’t be back to normal until four to six months after that. That’s quite a void in sales for Toyota. Is Nissan in the same shape? If they are, that’s a huge window of opportunity for other manufacturers, and a real danger for Toyota/Nissan in terms of market share erosion.
prehaps they should revise the plans to build the Prius in the US
Where’s the seating for 7 in this thing? The info on the Prius V says seating for 5, if this is the same i dont see a market. A hybrid Prius with seating for 7 however would sell like hotscakes.
OK, in Japan, the Alpha is available with 2 and 3 rows. In the 2 row config, the Prius standard NiMH battery is behind the 2nd row. In the 3 row version, a space-saving lithium-ion battery is between the two front seats. The lithium-ion version will definitely be available next April. The NiMH 2 row will be available “probably a little sooner.”
What’s the cargo room like in the 3-row version?
And, in the 2-row version, how’s the overall storage compare to the current model Prius?
Cargo room in 3 row is naturally limited. In the two row version, cavernous.
And, as always, US spec (the V) is the 2-row version w/ NiMH pack, because it’s cheaper, and Americans won’t pay the extra $7k for Li-ion & 2 more seats. Euro spec is (the +) is the Li-ion and 7 seat version (only?).
I’m actually sort of surprised that JDM is getting both 5- and 7- seaters because they already have the parallel hybrid version of the Previa (the one they stopped selling here in ’95). I suppose the 7 seat Alpha would fill the same slot as the Mazda5.
Nickel and Dimed:
The THS_C version of the Previa has long since been replaced with the “conventional” Toyota hybrid system.
Have they confirmed that the three-row version will be offered in the US? When the Prius V was introduced at NAIAS they didn’t mention one.
They made no representations whatsoever vis-a-vis the U.S. version. This was a JDM event.
US “v” sneak peek here: http://www.hybridcars.com/news/first-close-look-prius-v-exclusive-photos-29879.html
I wish there would be a 7 seat version of the Prius, but I think Americans on average are too obese for such a vehicle these days. My family of five (3 kids under 5) weighs less than the average person from Kentucky, so it would work well for us. For most Americans, not so much.
I love this car. And it has the hauling room I need for work cargo. I haven’t met a Prius owner yet who regretted buying one…whether for the mpg, technology, or a combination of both.
Looking forward to it…..
Dash/steering wheel courtesy of Scion?
My only criticism of the Prius V is that the powertrain wasn’t upgraded to have a little bit higher output. Maybe even just a higher burst electric motor output mode or something for when you need to accelerate quickly for a particularly difficult merge or something.
Hot and humid in Tokyo? At the moment it seems very pleasant, at least by Tokyo standards. Did I miss a heatwave?
You missed a one day heatwave on Friday with high humidity (after a lot of rain the days before.) Now it is indeed pleasant. We have windows and doors open, nice breeze.
The Prius V should *replace* the regular Prius in the US.
It would be an epic mistake to replace the current Prius with the Prius V.
The Prius is all many people need and it gets 10 MPG more than the Prius V.