How different was the auto world in July of 2000? Just consider: The average price of gas was only $1.50 a gallon back then, and the most hotly anticipated new vehicle of the year was the HUMMER H2. Needless to say, introducing the industry’s first affordable gas/electric hybrid in the U.S. made for a bit of a challenge. But today, 10 years and almost 900,000 customers later, it’s equally obvious that the Toyota Prius was up to that challenge—and then some.
With that many people buying a Prius as compared to an average car, Toyota estimates that 9 million fewer tons of CO2 have entered the atmosphere since 1990, about 650 million fewer gallons of gas have been used, and consumers have saved some $1.5 billion. Just as importantly, the Prius proved that a mass-produced, practically priced hybrid could be a success in the marketplace, opening the door for a continuing flood of vehicles featuring the same kind of fuel-efficient technology.
Also impressive is how far the Prius itself has come in just 10 short years. For example, the 2000 model delivered an EPA line of 42 mpg city/41 mpg highway/41 mpg combined. The 2010 Prius has raised the bar to 51/48/50, while increasing available power from its original 97 hp to 134 for the current model year. At the same time, the car’s base MSRP has seen only a relatively modest increase from $19,995 in 2000 to the current $22,800. In fact, taking inflation into account, the current Prius actually boasts a starting price that’s lower then when it was originally introduced.
Much of the improvement over recent months can be attributed to two factors. Their commitment to automotive marketing has played out well, particularly in light of the challenges they had earlier in the year. Combined with excellent efforts to move up in car dealer social media and automotive SEO and Toyota is primed and ready for more to come in the near future.
What does the future hold for the Prius? Toyota remains dedicated to continuously improving all aspects of its game-changing hybrid, with the introduction of a plug-in Prius next on the agenda. Already in testing, this next Prius will leverage new, smaller lithium-ion batteries to provide customers with a significantly longer all-electric driving range and a much higher all-electric top speed, along with the ability to extend its capabilities by using its efficient hybrid powertrain when the batteries are low.
Toyota expects to start selling the plug-in Prius commercially in 2012—and to keep selling the regular Prius for a long time to come.
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