los angeles - (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid, the most fuel-efficient car sold in the US, is getting harder to find on dealer lots and commanding higher prices when customers do.

It can take up to two weeks to receive delivery of the hybrid-electric vehicle, said Mark Harding, general manager of Toyota of Santa Monica, in Santa Monica, California.

"We've got some in stock at the moment, but we've also got a waiting list," he said. "Supply is very tight."

US inventories of Priuses are limited by production capacity in Japan, which must be shared with Asia and Europe, said John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman in Torrance, California.

"This is a special vehicle, and as fuel prices keep rising, it gets more special," he said. "Right now, US customers can get a Prius. Next month or the month after that, it's tough to say."

US dealer supplies of Priuses have dropped to the lowest level in two years, allowing Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker, to pare incentives and raise prices, said Mike Michels, a Toyota spokesman in Torrance.

Prius sales jumped 67 percent last month, fed by record gasoline prices.

"There's really no other car that's been out as long as Prius selling at this kind of volume with little or no incentive support," Toprak said. "Gas prices certainly help."

Toyota said May 2 it planned to boost the base price of the Prius $400, or 1.8 percent, this month.

Currently, Prius sells for $25,274 on average in the US, $869 more than a year ago, according to J.D. Power & Associates, a marketing data firm.