This brand extension of Prius – the V has the same Hybrid Synergy Drive System as the current-generation Prius Liftback launched two years ago – is setting Toyota on a road that will eventually see Prius outselling Corolla and Camry in the U.S.
Toyota has done it again. A day of test driving the newly enlarged Prius V – for versatile – affirmed the claim that this hybrid station wagon can indeed return the expected EPA ratings of 44 mpg in the city, 40 highway and 42 mpg combined. On the road Prius V is comfortable, reasonably quick, and mostly quiet except for some pleasant hybrid drive whine and the inevitable tire noise on expansion joints and rough pavement that comes from the low rolling resistance rubber. Alas the electric steering is still vague and without usable feedback. Nonetheless Prius V is a delightful family car.
So the unique selling proposition for this mid-size hybrid is simple: The Prius V has higher fuel economy than all, repeat all, SUVs, crossovers, station wagons of the same size, be they gasoline, diesel or hybrid powered. It’s likely Prius V will compete in these multiple auto arenas with its fuel economy and interior space combination. Prius V has seating for five (no third row seats – they add too much weight) and cargo capacity at 34.3 cubic feet. That’s more space than 80% of the small SUVs on the road today, including Chevrolet Equinox, the soon to be defunct Honda Element, Ford Escape, and Nissan Rogue, among others. Prius also has the highest owner loyalty of any midsize car, according to Toyota.
There’s one Yen-based caveat. Toyota made a monumental mistake when it stopped plans during the financial crisis to build the Prius in Mississippi; ultimately substituting instead the Corolla when it opens this fall when it abandoned the UAW organized NUMMI plant in California, collateral damage in the GM bankruptcy. With the Yen trading at around ¥80:$1, and likely to stay there, pricing could be a problem for the Japanese import that will ultimately hurt potential sales.
All Toyota will say at the moment is that the V will go for slightly more than the current transaction prices of the current Prius, which are in the $25,000 to more than $30,000 range.
In addition to more capacity, Prius V also has a 60/40-split rear seat that slides and reclines to provide comfort and maximum cargo flexibility.
This brand extension of Prius – the V has the same Hybrid Synergy Drive System as the current-generation Prius Liftback launched two years ago – is setting Toyota on a road that will eventually see Prius outselling Corolla and Camry in the U.S. and possibly globally. It’s just a question of when, if fuel prices stay where they are or gulp go up, and government fuel economy regulations continue to increase, which they will. For the technically curious the Liftback is 6 inches shorter in overall length, 3 inches down in height, and has a 3-inch shorter wheelbase than the Prius V.
Shipment of 36,000 Toyota Prius Hybrids arriving at Long Beach, California in June 2011.
In the hybrid segments, of course, Prius takes no prisoners. It’s the undisputed king of the road. Since Prius first went on sale in Japan 14 years ago, it has become the number-one hybrid in the world. Toyota has sold more than one million in the U.S. (Prius went on sale in the U.S. in August, 2000 as a 2001 model at an MSRP of $19,995 and gasoline was $1 gallon), and more than two million globally.
And while Detroit Three automakers and Nissan were early skeptics who dismissed and even mocked hybrid technology and its durability, 97% of the Prius models sold in the U.S. during the last decade are still in operation. Better still, the nickel metal hydride battery pack still in use by Toyota – until a lithium ion pack appears in a Prius plug-in hybrid during 2012, has a replacement cost of $2,300 compared to lithium’s current $10,000 – $16,000 production cost.
With a 53% share of the U.S. market, Prius outsells all of the other dozen or more hybrids combined. Compared to its main hybrid competitors, Prius outsells Honda hybrids 3 to 1, Ford 5 to 1 and GM 18 to 1. (Chrysler isn’t really a player here.) Prius also has the highest owner loyalty of any midsize car, according to Toyota.
Memo to Bob Lutz – it wasn’t the admiring liberal media whom you decry that bought all those Prii but customers who were willing to pay a premium for hybrid technology.
Toyota is projecting that V will take up about 20% of Prius volume when it appears this fall. Last year coming off quality and safety scandals at Toyota and Lexus, Prius sold about 140,000 units in the U.S. It appears that is about all the capacity to be had this year as Toyota, along with the rest of Japan, is recovering from a tragic earthquake and tsunami.
And more Prii are on the way. In early 2012 Prius will launch two more Prius family members – the Prius C compact hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid. This is part of a Toyota corporate plan for adding 11 new hybrid models to its global lineup during the next 18 months. Seven of the new hybrids – including plug-ins with lithium ion batteries – will be entirely new, not the next versions of existing models.
Depending on conditions, Prius Plug-in can be driven about 13 miles on battery power at speeds up to 60 mph. Its compact lithium-ion battery provides less weight and a quicker recharging time, taking three hours on 110 volts and 1.7 hours on 220 volts. It can be “topped off” anytime with a convenient short charge, according to Toyota.
The Prius c Concept is a small, sub-compact city car that Toyota says is aimed at young singles and couples. It will be the least expensive hybrid in the Prius line, with the highest mileage of any “plug-less” hybrid available in the U.S., according to Toyota.
For the Japanese automaker, the hybrid rollout cannot happen too soon. Toyota’s U.S. sales in 2010 were flat as all other major makers posted increases during a modest market recovery. For recall-ridden Toyota it was the worst year since it came to the U.S. 55 years ago.
Priority Registration Coming for 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Earth Day Launch for New Ordering Web Site and Toyota Sells One-Millionth Prius Hybrid in the U.S. and Prius, Priuses, Prium and Prien? No, Toyota Prii is the Plural
