NEW YORK (Kyodo) Annual sales of Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid vehicle declined for the first time in the U.S. market in 2006 since sales began in August 2000, an auto industry research company said Monday.
The Prius remained the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the United States with sales of around 107,000 units but the figure was 0.5 percent down from the previous year, R.L. Polk & Co. said.
Industry analysts said the slack performance was apparently because tax benefits for buyers of the vehicle were halved last fall from earlier levels.
Under the preferential U.S. tax treatment for environmentally friendly vehicles, begun in January 2006, buyers of the cars could receive special tax credits until Dec. 31, 2010. But once a manufacturer's sales of such vehicles reach 60,000 units, the special tax treatment phases out.
According to U.S. industry data, buyers of the Prius model were able to receive a tax deduction worth about $ 3,000 per unit but Toyota met its 60,000 vehicle cap around last June and therefore the benefits were reduced by half.
Hybrid cars are "no longer the only choice" for consumers, said the U.S. research company, which collects and analyzes auto registration data on a state-by-state basis. Consumer interest is diversifying in terms of environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles, it said.
プリウスはremained the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the United States ですが
0.5 percent down from the previous yearみたいです。
tax benefits for buyers of the vehicle were halved last fall from earlier levelsが主な理由みたいですが
once a manufacturer's sales of such vehicles reach 60,000 units, the special tax treatment phases out.
早く売りすぎたってことでしょうか？
