Just in time for the 21st Century.
That was the tagline that Toyota (TM) -) used back in 1997 when the automaker started selling what would become the industry's top selling hybrid vehicle, in Japan.
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The world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car won the Car of the Year Japan Award when it was introduced and a year later it won the Automotive Researchers' and Journalists' Conference Car of the Year award in Japan.
The new Prius has proven itself the best new car on the market for the first time in 20 years. The Toyota Prius is the 2024 MotorTrend Car of the Year! #Toyota #Prius #COTY #MotorTrend @Toyota https://t.co/oIXxznGYVR
— motortrend (@MotorTrend) November 17, 2023
The Toyota Prius hybrid went worldwide in 2000 and made such an impression that MotorTrend named the Prius its 2004 Car of the Year.
"Not only is it the first hybrid that an enthusiast can truly enjoy, it provides a tantalizing preview of a future where extreme fuel-efficiency, ultra-low emissions, and stirring performance will happily coexist in one package," the publication said back then.
A winner again
"The Prius is so brilliantly approachable, so undemanding and uncomplicated to drive, you could easily convince an unsuspecting guest driver that it's just a conventional car with a pushbutton starter," MotorTrend said.
The world has changed since those early days as more drivers became environmentally conscious and made the shift to electric vehicle and hybrids.
Hybrids captured 3.2% of the light vehicle market in 2013 and 5.5% in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. All-electric vehicles accounted for 3.2% of the light vehicle market in 2021.
As of September 2022, the Prius ranked as the world's top selling hybrid car with 5 million units sold.
And now, 20 years on, the Toyota Prius is the 2024 MotorTrend Car of the Year.
"It's remarkable how much we wrote about that game-changing 2004 Prius that still applies to its Car of the Year-winning successor two decades later," the publication wrote on Nov. 16.
The announcement was made during the Los Angeles International Auto Show. Finalists for the award included the Tesla (TSLA) -) Model 3, the Lucid (LCID) -) Air, and the BMW (BMWYY) -) M2.
"In a year with some seriously stiff all-electric competition in the form of the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 and revised Tesla Model 3 Highland, the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of Toyota's stalwart proved it's a more compelling car by combining traditional Prius brand values — efficiency, safety, and value — with newfound style and performance that are impossible to overlook," MotorTrend said.
The Prius, MotorTrend said, "ushered in a new generation of vehicles that combined an electric motor with a high-efficiency engine to get you farther with gas."
“The Prius succeeded in capturing the hearts and minds of MotorTrend judges by offering an undeniably attractive and engaging car—all while upholding its hallmark traits of efficiency, safety, and affordability," MotorTrend Group head of editorial Ed Loh said in a statement.
Toyota VP: 'Prius has become legendary'
"In an automotive landscape grappling with a scarcity of affordable EV options and inadequate charging infrastructure in the U.S., Toyota made the Prius hybrid the right car for this moment and rightfully earned MotorTrend's 2024 Car of the Year award in the process," Loh said.
David Christ, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, said that the "Prius has evolved from being the first to becoming legendary."
Earlier this year, Kelley Blue Book said that while electric vehicles may be dominating the headlines, its Brand Watch Report found that twice as many car shoppers consider buying a hybrid.
Four of the electrified models in the top 10 that got a close look from the most shoppers were Toyota hybrids, Kelley Blue Book said, while the first electric vehicle--the Tesla Model Y--didn't show up until the eighth position.
"And a much-hyped revamp of federal EV tax credits did almost nothing to change demand for EVs," the research company said.
Last year, Toyota North America's vice president of sales Bob Carter told CNBC that the reason hybrids are so powerful is "because they fit the needs of so many customers."
“The demand for hybrid has been strong," he said. "We expect it to continue to grow as the entire industry transitions over to electrification later this decade.”
Toyota has big plans for the Camry, its best-selling four-door sedan. The automaker said that all Camrys for the 2025 model year will feature Toyota's fifth-generation hybrid system.
This new hybrid setup is lighter and more compact and efficient than its previous systems, Toyota said.
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