Incentives for Prius offered

LOS ANGELES -- Toyota Motor Corp., the leading seller of hybrid autos in the United States, is offering its first low-interest loan and lease incentives on the gasoline-electric Prius to boost sales by at least 50 percent this year.

Toyota is luring buyers with interest-free loans for 24 months and three-year leases as low as $219 a month, Ernest Bastien, vice president of US vehicle operations said yesterday. The incentives began last month and will continue indefinitely.

For three years, monthslong waiting lists have prompted some dealers to mark up prices by $1,000 or more. Now, additional manufacturing capacity has allowed Toyota to boost its sales goal for the Prius to at least 160,000 this year, from 106,971 in 2006.

The move also reflects Toyota's effort to recast the Prius as a car for all drivers, not just those focused on the environment, Bastien said. He dismissed suggestions that the incentives reflect weakening demand.