Jim Press: Prius was 100% subsidized by Japanese government
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Chrysler co-President Jim Press is stirring things up at his former employer, Toyota Motor Corp., by saying development of the Prius hybrid was subsidized by the Japanese government.
In a BusinessWeek story published Thursday, March 24, Press said that when he was at Toyota, “The Japanese government paid for 100 percent of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius.”
Toyota today denied the remark made by Press, who left Toyota last year after a long career at the Japanese automaker. His last position there was president of Toyota Motor North America Inc. Toyota spokeman sais that Toyota has not received absolutely no support, no money, no grant from the Japanese government.
The Prius dominates the U.S. hybrid market. During the first quarter, Toyota sold 42,907 Priuses, up 8.1 percent over the same period a year ago. In 2007, Toyota sold 181,221 Priuses, up 69.4 percent over 2006.
Press, a longtime advocate for hybrid technology, told BusinessWeek the new laws were “just part of the political process.”
Source: AutoWeek
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