Toyota Motor Corp. scored a quick victory in 2011 as U.S. deliveries of its Prius v wagon in 10 weeks topped sales of General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid that was available all year.
Toyota sold 8,399 of the hybrid wagons, which didn't arrive at U.S. dealerships until the last week of October, said Carly Schaffner, a spokeswoman for the company. GM delivered 7,671 rechargeable Volts in 2011 and 7,997 in the model's first 13 months on the market. The Japanese automaker hadn't distinguished Prius v sales from those of the original one.
"Prius v is off to a great start," Jim Lentz, president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, said in an emailed statement, without elaborating. The hybrid wagon starts at $26,400, Toyota said on its website. The Volt starts at $39,145 and is eligible for as much as $7,500 in federal tax credits.