Cash Back on the Prius?

2005 Toyota Prius

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Toyota has begun to offer some rebates on its Prius hybrid. The rebates began in late January and are part of a broader campaign to sell more Priuses to American consumers.

"We want to maker sure the hybrid powertrain becomes part of the mainstream and allocated a level of production that requires us to start marketing the car like any other car. We've been living in a fools’ paradise for a number of years. Now, like we planned, we've increased our production and we want the vehicle to turn into a mainstream vehicle,” Toyota Motor North America president Jim Press said after a speech in Chicago.

“I think it's going very well. Our inventory continues to grow and our (sales) volume was up 20 percent in January,” he added.

Toyota's hybrids outsell the entire Mercedes-Benz line in the U.S. , he noted during the speech.

Jim Farley, Toyota Motor Sales group vice president of marketing, said the Prius name has been around since 2000 but the Japanese automaker has never really promoted it any systematic way. The company has run advertising on the hybrids in general and on the Synergy Drive System and corporate ads touting the company's commitment to building environmentally friendly vehicles.

The Prius, however, has sold primarily by world of mouth, Farley said.

Last year, Toyota sold about 100,000 Priuses, Farley added. This year the goal is to raise the number 175,000 units and the only way to do that is to get on the shopping lists of a lot more consumers. The only way to get on more shopping lists is to advertise, he added. Getting more consumers into showrooms also will require making the Prius less of mystery to consumers.

The national campaign will stress that hybrid technology is friendly and also quietly emphasize that customers no longer have to wait to take delivery, Farley said. "Last fall, it was literally true we had about two hours of inventory on the ground. Now it’s more like 30 days, which is quite respectable," Farley said.

The new Prius advertising blitz will continue to utilize the Internet but the national television campaigns will kick off this spring. "I don't want to promote other people's hybrids," said Farley, so the campaign will be tailored to emphasize the Prius’ unique features and personality.

Surveys show the intentions for buying a Prius are actually quite strong. "The interest is quite high," he said. "We don't know what the upside is," he added. "We think it will be very significant," he said.

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