Toyota Prius

By now everyone knows about the catastrophic earthquake in Japan that has brought the country’s economy to a standstill. Japan’s automotive industry has been hit pretty hard and we’re going to start seeing some ripple effects here in the United States.

According to reports, new car-shoppers could see prices of some popular hybrid and fuel-efficeint vehicles like the Toyota Prius and Honda Fit rise in the coming weeks.

The increase in price will be a result of the cost of imports going up since the earthquake has slowed down production in Japan.

“The Prius will go from selling under invoice just a couple of weeks go to over the sticker price a couple of weeks from now,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with car price information company TrueCar.com.

There is about a 60-day supply of the Prius in the United States and that supply is going to drop significantly as consumers snap up fuel-efficienct cars due to high gas prices

When will you feel the crunch? By the end of this month and into April.

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Detroit News