Analyst: It's time for a Toyota Prius price drop
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/carbuying/" rel="tag">Car Buying</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hybrids/" rel="tag">Hybrid</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>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/earnings-financials/" rel="tag">Earnings/Financials</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/#2037791"><img alt="2010 Toy0ta Prius" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/prius2010rev000.jpg" style="margin: 4px 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" /></a>
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Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery</div>
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With the first year of this decade only a month behind us, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/toyota">Toyota</a> is, according to a report from <em>Bloomberg</em>, ready to make sales predictions for the year 2020. The automaker is apparently confident that the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/prius">Prius</a> will continue to hold its spot as Japan's best-selling model. However, Fumikazu Kitagawa of Nomura Research Institute seems to think that the Prius' exceptional sales volume may drive Toyota to drop its price.<br />
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Kitagawa claims Japanese car buyers consider the mainstream Prius as a "friendly" model and not a "leading edge" vehicle. This "friendly" image pits the Prius in direct competition with vehicles such as the bargain-priced, subcompact <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/fit">Honda Fit</a>. Kitagawa, who polled 1,972 Japanese car owners, explains the situation like this, "As the Prius becomes more of a mass-market car, it may be time to think about lowering the price."<br />
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Volume sellers like the gas-electric Prius are not often sought by tech-savvy Japanese buyers. Now that it's a mainstream model, Kitigawa argues, the Prius' cutting-edge appeal, which commanded a premium price, has faded away.<br />
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<div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review">Review: 2010 Toyota Prius</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/prius2010_rev000_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/prius2010_rev002_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/prius2010_rev001_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/prius2010_rev003_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-toyota-prius-review/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/prius2010_rev004_thumbnai l.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<strong><em><font size="1">Photos copyright (C)2011 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL</font></em></strong><br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/toyota-may-lower-prius-price-as-image-changes-nomura-says.html">Bloomberg</a>]</p><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/02/toyota-prius-price-drop/">Analyst: It's time for a Toyota Prius price drop</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:00:00 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.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/toyota-may-lower-prius-price-as-image-changes-nomura-says.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/02/toyota-prius-price-drop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19824491/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/02/toyota-prius-price-drop/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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