Toyota Resumes Production of Prius, Lexus Hybrids

Toyota announced that it will resume production of the popular, and currently scarce, Toyota Prius on Monday in Japan. As we previously reported, availability of the model was rapidly diminishing since the automaker halted production in Japan after the earthquake that hit the country earlier this month.

The new 2011 Lexus CT 200h, which went on sale at the beginning of this month, and the slow-selling HS 250h will also resume production Monday, Toyota said.

Toyota restarted production of replacement parts and parts used to build other Toyota models overseas last week.

Toyota didn’t mention when other models produced in Japan will go back into production. The company builds the 4Runner, Yaris and most Lexus and Scion models in the country. Earlier this week, Toyota warned of shutting down its North American plants due to parts shortages.