The Toyota Prius Adds to the Family… by Adoption
Toyota Prius 2010, all photos originally uploaded by coches.blog2.es
The family of Toyota Prius vehicles is set to grow over this next year, but they won’t necessarily look much like each other. Automotive News reported today that Toyota executives made an announcement during a meeting with the 60 largest dealers in the Las Vegas area, that the name, Prius, could soon find its way on a number of Toyota hybrids sold in the US.
Instead of a Prius being associated with a particular type of hybrid model from Toyota, it would now be attached to a much larger family of hybrids. While they may not look anything like their current parents, they will be related by at least one similarity… their hybrid powertrains.
Up until now, the hybrid models of Toyota have been characterized by the addition of the word, Hybrid, placed after its original model name. For instance, the Camry Hybrid and the Highlander Hybrid. In the future however, the Prius name will adopt both these hybrids and they will be all become one big, happy family.
What Toyota is ultimately hoping for, is the brand recognition of its very popular Prius name to help boost the lagging sales with the rest of their hybrid vehicles. The word, Prius, has come to be somewhat of a magic phrase, describing a very exclusive group of hybrid-driving, green conscious consumers.
Toyota has insured dealers that Prius would not become a sub-brand however, like the Scion and Lexus, but rather remain a model reference to its hybrid powered status. The real question now, is will this relatively simple cross-referencing tactic prove to boost the lagging sales in Toyota-ville?
Well… maybe yes, but most likely no!
Source: Automotive News
