Responding to a Tokyo Shimbun story that said discussions with GM were underway, Toyota says that no decision has been made about potentially building the Prius at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), the joint Toyota-GM plant in California. The AP reports that Toyota is stepping back from the rumor that the Prius could be built in North America for the first time. The Prius is currently made in Japan and China. Officially, Toyota's statement said, "We are always considering the best places for production, but nothing has been decided about producing the Prius at NUMMI." We do know that Toyota will build two new hybrid battery plants (and expand a third) in Japan for increased hybrid vehicle production. If the Shimbun story is true, then major components (like those batteries) would be shipped to NUMMI for final assembly. Something tells me we'll hear more about this in the future.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd), AP]