Toyota Already Selling Out of New Sai Hybrid

Toyota already has 14,000 Pre-orders for the new SAI Hybrid, due out in Japan in December. (Source: Reuters).

Toyota had targeted 3,000 units a month. That the Sai, said to be rated at 23 km/liter or 54 mpg (Japanese rating, not EPA), is already close to half their annual target says a lot about the Japanese incentive plan for hybrids.

The new Sai hybrid is the Toyota sister to the Lexus HS 250h. Like the Prius, it will be a dedicated hybrid platform, but will have a bigger engine than the Prius. It's being built on the same platform and with the same drvivetrain as the HS 250h, but will be differentiated in the interior and exterior from the Lexus Hybrid.

The push in Japan for hybrids is at a fever pitch right now. Incentives worth up to 280,000 yen ($3,150) for the Sai are helping fuel the current drive. That's about a 10% discount on a car that's being sold for 3.38 million yen ($38,020) which is about 15% less than the Lexus HS 250h.