丰田借普锐斯做大混合动力车型市场

    不过，丰田还是拥有市场上最强的混合动力品牌。经过15年的发展，随着普锐斯被视为“绿色”能源运动的同义词，它受欢迎的程度也与日俱增。汉森表示，丰田为旗下的豪华品牌雷克萨斯（Lexus）和专为年轻用户设立的品牌赛恩（Scion）建立了独立的分销体系，而普锐斯尽管大获成功，但丰田并不会因此为它建立一个独立的分销体系。

    不过，这并不意味着丰田不会采取其他举措。目前，丰田仍然在日本本土生产普锐斯。但它也开始考虑在密西西比州图珀洛的装配厂进行生产。并且，在美国生产会进一步降低该车的成本。成本进一步降低后，丰田就能降低售价，进而缩短消费者的投资回报期。

    译者：清远

    Still, Toyota may have the strongest hybrid brand in the market. Over 15 years, its popularity grew as the brand became identified with the "green" energy movement. Hanson said the success of the Prius doesn't tempt Toyota to establish a separate franchise, as it did for luxury cars with Lexus and vehicles aimed at younger customers with Scion.

    But that doesn't mean other changes aren't in the works. Toyota, which builds the Prius in Japan, is still considering the idea of building the vehicle at its Tupelo, Mississippi assembly plant. Building the Prius in dollars would lower the cost of the car even further. With lower costs, Toyota would have leverage to drive pricing lower -- and make the payback on the consumer's investment even shorter.