Among attendees at the ceremony were Chachoengsao vice governor Bundit Thereethivarak and TMT president Kyoichi Tanada, who gave a speech on the occasion.
"It is indeed a proud moment for us to see Prius production start here at Gateway Plant. This is proof positive of the increasing level of Thai manufacturing on both quality and safety fronts," said Tanada.
The Gateway Plant is the first to produce the third generation of Prius outside of Japan. It is expected to have a capacity of up to 12,000 vehicles annually. The first hybrid vehicles to roll off the assembly line will go into dealerships tomorrow being priced from 1,190,000 baht (US $39,313) to 1,270,000 baht (US $41,856).
"With the commitment to developing product with the cutting-edge design technology and environmental concerns, Toyota has developed and implemented various projects and products during the past several years. Recently, Camry Hybrid has been introduced to Thailand and Asia for the first time and apparently succeeding which will achieve more than 10,000 sales units within this October of this year. Now, Toyota Motor Thailand is ready to introduce another hybrid car to Thai customers which is Prius. Thailand will become the third country in the world that will serve as the manufacturing base of Prius, in this November," said Mr. Kyoichi Tanada, President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co.Ltd.
The Prius, launched in 1997, topped cumulative global sales of 2 million units at the end of September this year. The huge success of the Toyota Prius is attributed to its advanced design and technology, which made the car widely accepted by customers around the world.
Google News