(autoinsidernews) - U.S. sales of the Toyota Prius and the automaker's other hybrids have slid over the fall when buyers no longer qualified for a full federal tax break, Toyota officials said. Consumers can still qualify for a partial tax credit for Toyota hybrids. Toyota moved 14,598 hybrid units in October, the automaker's lowest sales since March.
Until recently, there was a two-month wait to get one, Toyota Motor North America President Jim Press said of the Prius. For the first time since its launch in 2003, Toyota has been able to fill consumer demand for the Prius, reports Trend.
Press called on Congress to extend the hybrid tax incentive for 2007 purchases. The Bush administration supports extending the hybrid tax incentives. Energy legislation in 2005 allowed tax credits up to $3,600 for hybrids. The full credit was capped at 60,000 vehicles per automaker, which Toyota passed last summer.