Toyota Toyota Motor isn’t abandoning its iconic Prius hybrid anytime soon, despite investing billions in pure electric vehicles amid criticism that it hasn’t moved fast enough in the emerging segment. The automaker unveiled new versions of the Prius hybrid and the Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, late Tuesday. Both are considered “electrified” vehicles and not purely electric. They continue to use natural gas powered engines along with electrical components that make the vehicles more fuel efficient. Toyota hasn’t released U.S. specifications for the 2023 Prius models, but the vehicles are noticeably different in style than the current versions. The exterior is sportier, less quirky and appears to be more aerodynamic. But the overall silhouette is still recognizable as a Prius. Toyota Prius Hybrid 2023 Toyota Moving forward with the Prius as other automakers pledge to go all-electric in the coming years is part of Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s electrification strategy. The company believes that EVs are not the only solution for automakers to achieve carbon neutrality – something the company hopes to do by 2050. Simon Humphries, Toyota’s senior director of design, has not shied away from recent criticism of the company’s ongoing plans to develop hybrids alongside battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, and other potential technologies. “With the current focus on BEVs, it doesn’t seem like a day goes by that we don’t hear, ‘So how long are you going to keep making hybrids?’” So disclaimer: Today I’m going to talk about Toyota’s new hybrid car,” Humphries said during the during the reveal live stream in Japan. Since the Prius was launched in 1997, Toyota says it has sold more than 20 million electric vehicles worldwide. The company says these sales have avoided 160 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to the impact of 5.5 million fully electric battery vehicles. Interior of the 2023 Toyota Prius Toyota Toyoda and other company executives have said that fully electric vehicles are not viable for many drivers – especially in the immediate future – as not all regions of the world will adopt electric vehicles at the same rate due to the high cost of vehicles and a lack of infrastructure. Humphreys reiterated the company’s position, saying that “the Prius is an eco-friendly car within everyone’s reach. To achieve carbon neutrality, everyone in the world needs to participate.” “It’s a car that all people should drive, not just the few. That’s its greatest strength and its raison d’être,” he said. In the U.S., the 2022 Prius starts at about $25,000 — far less than most pure electric vehicles — and achieves an EPA-certified 56 mpg. The 2022 Prius Prime plug-in hybrid starts at about $29,000 and gets 133 MPGe, which takes into account the vehicle’s 25-mile all-electric range as well as the fuel economy of its gas engine.
