Toyota hybrid sales spiked just before credit halved

[tigerhonaker]

Monday, October 2, 2006



UPDATED: 2:41 PM


Toyota hybrid sales
spiked just before
credit halved

The Courier-Journal



Sales of Toyota Motor Co.’s hybrid vehicles spiked at the end of last month as customers rushed to buy before a deadline for federal tax credits.

“There was an uptick towards the end of the month,” Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said. Final monthly sales numbers will be released Tuesday. Production of the Camry hybrid sedan starts in Georgetown, Ky., next week.

Until Sunday, Toyota hybrid buyers could get up to $3,150 in tax credits.

Credits now have fallen by half because the automaker sold more than 60,000 gasoline-electric vehicles in the first five months of the year.

Buyers can still get full credits if they buy Ford Motor Co. or Honda Motor Co. hybrids.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/.../61002027/1003