Sales of the Prius in Japan Soar Above the Rest

According to a dealership in Japan, nationwide orders of the Prius have topped 110,000 (Source: The Associated Press: Toyota Prius sales boom in Japan despite slowdown). That's well above the pre-orders announced by Toyota just a few weeks ago (80,000), and the sales rate of the Honda Insight.

Toyota has set their sales goal in Japan at 10,000 a month, which would make it the top selling car in Japan. Of course, if they really do have over 100,000 orders already, it's going to take them a year just to catch up to the orders they've already taken.

Hybrids in Japan have received a boost from the government, since they are being sold with a tax exemption (Source: LA Times). Add in the cash-back rebate for cars older than 13 when traded in for greener cars, and you get the rush on a hybrid promising 90 mpg in city driving (according to Japanese numbers... in the US, the Prius is rated at 50 mpg).