Quake fallout may delay Toyota Prius V sales by up to a year
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hybrids/" rel="tag">Hybrid</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/minivans/" rel="tag">Minivan/Van</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/japan/" rel="tag">Japan</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/" rel="tag">Hatchback</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/toyota/" rel="tag">Toyota</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2012-toyota-prius-v-detroit-2011/#3769621"><img alt="prius v wagon" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/prius-v-toyota.jpg" style="width: 630px; height: 418px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 4px 0px;" /></a><br />
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2012 Toyota Prius V - Click above for the high-res image gallery</div>
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In March, we heard that, because of production delays as a result of the March 11 earthquake in Japan, <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/toyota/">Toyota</a> was looking at <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/23/report-toyota-prius-v-launch-delayed-in-japan-due-to-earthquake/">delays</a> for the new <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/prius+v">Prius V</a> and Prius + models set to go on sale in North America and Europe, respectively. <em>The Detroit News</em> is reporting that those delays could last as long as a year for some buyers due to battery pack shortages.<br />
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Despite the production problems, Toyota still launched the the larger Prius variant in Tokyo. But the lack of batteries means that the automaker can only build 1,000 of the three-row models with the lithium ion battery pack, and another 2,000 models with the nickel-metal hydride battery pack. That doesn't quite jive with the automaker's 18,000 orders for the nickel-metal hydride-equipped five-seater or the 7,000 orders for the pricier three-row model. And that's just the orders for the up-sized Prius in Japan. The automaker intends to sell about 2,000 units per month each in North America and Europe as well.<br />
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In the big picture, Toyota has at least launched the new Prius, and new models should begin trickling in over the next few months. The Prius + won't be offered in Europe until mid-2012, and it won't be available in the U.S. at all.<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/quake-fallout-may-delay-toyota-prius-v-sales-by-up-to-a-year/">Quake fallout may delay Toyota Prius V sales by up to a year</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Fri, 13 May 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/quake-fallout-may-delay-toyota-prius-v-sales-by-up-to-a-year/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19940043/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/13/quake-fallout-may-delay-toyota-prius-v-sales-by-up-to-a-year/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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