Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 25) - Toyota's third generation Prius, which made its official market debut in China this week, comes with a starting price of 229,800 yuan ($36,508), National Business Daily reported. The price is a full 30,000 yuan ($4,766) lower than the last generation Prius.

Tian Congming, senior vice president for FAW Toyota's sales division, has announced that the joint venture has set a sales target of 3,000 new Prius vehicles (pictured) this year. The target has been decided upon after investigating consumer attitudes towards new energy vehicles and considering the sales performance of the last generation model. "Our current production capability is enough to satisfy an annual target of 3,000 vehicles… and meet with unexpected [market demand]." Mr. Tian said.

Localization for the third generation Prius is far superior to its predecessor. According to Toyota Motor Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada, manufacturing costs for the Prius' hybrid drive system are expected to be slashed in half after Chinese production begins.

Although officially classified as a new energy vehicles, the hybrid Prius is currently only eligible for government subsidized savings. Furthermore, the new generation's usage of a 1.8 L engine instead of the original 1.5 L one may make it harder for it to continue receiving government savings.

Despite successes in the Japanese and US markets, Toyota has yet to witness a similar performance with its Prius in China. It seems this time Toyota will not be relying solely on the Prius, as President and CEO Akio Toyoda has announced the manufacturer's intent to bring over new plug-in hybrid and pure electric models to the country by 2013.