Toyota: Prius solar sunroof much more popular than expected

The undeniable success of the 2010 Prius surely has Toyota breathing a sigh of relief. Still, even good news sometimes comes with a caveat, and that's reportedly true of the Japanese automaker's latest fuel sipper. According to Wards Auto, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. President Jim Lentz expects that the automaker will sell about 140,000 Prius hybrids here in the States, which falls well short of the 180,000 units sold in 2007.

It seems Toyota could likely sell considerably more Prius hybrids if it could make them fast enough, but as has been reported, battery constraints are holding up production. Another item that Toyota is having trouble supplying enough of is reportedly the solar sunroof option. Toyota had expected that between two and three percent of all Prius hybrids would be equipped with the sun-soaking option. In reality, Lentz reports "demand has been running closer to 12%."

[Source: Wards Auto via All About Prius]