The company has sold 425,000 hybrids since 1997 (when the first version of the Prius was introduced in Japan - most people think that the current Prius model is second generation, but it's actually a third generation vehicle) and plans to sell around 400,000 hybrid vehicles in 2006 alone. That's almost as much as their previous 8 years combined! Also, as we've recently reported, Toyota wants to reduce the price of its hybrids, which should make them even more popular. Just imagine how many they would sell if there was no supply problem and no waiting lists! I bet the US auto executives who said that hybrids were a waste of time and would always stay a "niche product" are now thinking otherwise.