√Toyota Prius hybrid not dead yet, spy photos show
The pioneer of Toyota hybrid technology has been discontinued in Australia, but work is underway in Japan on a Prius replacement. Will it return to local showrooms?
A replacement for the Toyota Prius is being developed in Japan, however for now it is unclear if the new model will trigger a return to Australian showrooms.
The Prius range was discontinued earlier this year by Toyota Australia, as reported by Drive in May, but the decision could still be reversed at some time in the future if the new Prius lives up to its name – it means ‘to go before’ – or it gets a new role.
Although Toyota has sold more than 300,000 hybrids in Australia, the Prius contributed about 35,000 cars to the total – and its position as the hybrid pace-setter from 2001 was rapidly overtaken by later petrol-electric versions of mainstream models including the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and RAV4.
Against this backdrop – and the expansion of hybrid tech across other models in the Toyota range, and the company’s significant investment in future electric cars – a fifth-generation Prius appears to be in development in Japan.
This Toyota Prius test vehicle was caught on camera by a reader of Japanese website car-moby, which reports the car was driving with US number plates.
It is also believed to be left-hand drive.
It was photographed on public roads in the Aichi Prefecture, the region of Japan where Toyota is based.
The pictures show a car with a lower roofline than the outgoing model, as well as a more-aerodynamic shape with a longer nose.
It also has doorhandles mounted on the C-pillar, in a similar position to the C-HR.
The post Toyota Prius hybrid not dead yet, spy photos show appeared first on Drive.
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