Toyota Prius Will Carry Over Till At Least 2022; Here Is Why

Toyota developed the Prius for five years, and it came to market. Every generation until the fourth has been on a 5-year pattern. I have a theory on why Toyota is rolling forward with the current Prius and will keep it that way for a bit longer.

Reason One: The Industry Is Changing Rapidly
Have you noticed that Toyota has been making more plug-in models? Have you also noticed the Toyota fleet has significantly increased in hybrids? It is for a purpose.

Toyota has known that part of the future is in EV, and to compete in this arena, you need to know battery technology. The amount of knowledge Toyota has on this subject is astounding. Over 20 years of in-market testing with battery technology has given the company a significant advantage.

Toyota is a company that looks ahead to see how it will change its business. That is why Prius has added the plug-in option to test and develop the EV platform more.

Telsa disrupted the industry and made the idea of the electric car a reality. Toyota is such a conservative company though they are taking their time developing their EV.

Toyota still wants to be part of the game but on their terms. Prius will stay a hybrid as long as possible until Toyota puts its version of an EV on the road. This is one reason we do not see Prius getting changed much, if at all, for now.

Reason Two: If It Is Not Broken...
Toyota has made a fortune off selling hybrids, so the company to drop everything and switch over does not make sense. The hype with all these states not wanting to sell gasoline vehicles is a fad more than anything. Gasoline cars are not going away in the next five years.

The infrastructure cannot support the increase in electric cars right now anyway, so hybrids for the win.

Conclusion
Toyota is strategic, and they know that there is no sense in rushing perfection until there is a sensible demand for their products. Prius and all the other hybrids they have are not going to suddenly up and disappear, but as the market shifts, it wise for them to keep what they have now until their EV is ready.

That is all for today. I hope you have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you in the following article.

Check out this wild new battery tech that Tesla has and why it will forever change the auto industry.

Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporters.