There are goals, and then there are stretch goals. Debuting at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show, the Toyota Prius concept was a world-changing example of the latter.
It was created to satisfy a seemingly outrageous executive mandate to build a car that would double conventional fuel efficiency. Arriving in the US in 2000 and Australia in 2001, the world’s first production hybrid model hit its target – and signalled a new era.
Hybrids were a revelation. Combining the power and reliability of petrol engines with the fuel savings (and lower emissions) of electric motors, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are able to use the engine and some smart electronics to charge their supplementary on-board batteries as they drive (while cruising), as well as by recovering energy during braking.
There’s no range anxiety or lifestyle change. The battery is small, so you can drive for a few kilometres, for example in slow city traffic, silently using only battery power, while for everything else the car will run on the battery, the petrol engine, or both, depending on what’s required.
Plug-in electric hybrids (PHEVs), have much larger batteries that can be charged externally, either from a power outlet in your home or at a dedicated public charging station. This gives drivers the flexibility to use grid power or rooftop solar and batteries. The first production models from major marques weren’t generally available until the 2010s.
Offering twice the range of its competition, while halving emissions, the hybrid Prius achieved mainstream success in Australia. Its impact is even more obvious now.
“When we launched the first Camry Hybrid 10 years ago, it was only the second hybrid model after Prius. Today, we offer the hybrid powertrain in seven model lines, and with over 70% of current Camry buyers opting for the hybrid version, it is our biggest seller.” says Sean Hanley
For decades, everyday motoring icons the Toyota Camry and Corolla have been among the country’s automotive bestsellers (Toyota has long been Australia’s dominant carmaker). Today, sales of hybrid versions of both models surpass those of their internal-combustion-only siblings.
While progress in HEV technology has been evolutionary, not revolutionary, the most important tipping point has been a combination of acceptance and accessibility, says Matt MacLeod, manager of future technologies and mobility with Toyota Australia.
“There’s no difference in lifestyle now between owning a full internal combustion vehicle and an HEV, and a minimal purchase price difference,” MacLeod says. And after that purchase, HEVs use significantly less fuel.
In 2021, Australians bought 70,466 HEVs and 8,521 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) or PHEVs. More than 80% of Australian electrified car sales are Toyotas, the brand having never surrendered its lead.
Launching the newest version of Camry Hybrid in early 2021, Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales and marketing, said: “When we launched the first Camry Hybrid 10 years ago, it was only the second hybrid model after Prius. Today, we offer the hybrid powertrain in nine model lines, and with over 70% of current Camry buyers opting for the hybrid version, it is our biggest seller.”
The tech in that first Prius was ahead of its time. And while there’s been no root-and-branch overhaul of HEV technology, today’s powertrains have come on dramatically.
Australia’s bestselling electrified car today is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – a model that, at times, has been the country’s bestselling car outright. The AWD version has a 131kW petrol engine that, when combined with its two electric motors – one on each of its front and rear axles – pumps out a combined total of 163kW of power. That combination of mechanical and electrical power helps the RAV4 to a quite rapid time of 8.1 seconds for 0-100km/h, and allows it to cover 1,000km between refills. Unsurprisingly, more than 70% of RAV4 buyers now plump for a hybrid.
The ultra-aerodynamic pod-ish shape of early hybrids has also evolved. Its early rounded lines helped it to a low aerodynamic drag coefficient figure of 0.29, but the 2022 Prius, while a slightly more conventionally raked and sculpted small-car shape, returns an even better 0.24, making it one of the most aerodynamic cars on the market.
Offering twice the range of its competition, while halving emissions, the hybrid Prius achieved mainstream success in Australia. Its impact is even more obvious now.
While incrementally improving performance, Toyota has managed to mainstream its hybrids – and, by doing so, all hybrids – and now offers popular HEV variants of many of its models.
By the time Toyota racked up 15m hybrid sales globally, in January 2020, it was estimated that its customers’ choosing HEVs had saved about 120m tonnes of CO2.
That’s progress.
MacLeod says: “The next generation of hybrids will continue to reduce costs and affordability, continuing our iterative improvement of batteries and motors. And all of them will reduce your carbon footprint.”
Initially it might have been perplexing to high-octane car nuts, but the descendants of the Toyota Motor Corporation’s first HEV continue to change the world.
In December, the company announced an ambitious acceleration of its roadmap to carbon neutrality, adding 16 new BEVs to its range, with 30 new BEVs to be rolled out by 2030.
Toyota Australia president and CEO, Matthew Callachor, says: “Australians are already buying Toyota hybrid electric vehicles in record numbers, which is significantly reducing the amount of carbon emissions. This demonstrates their support for a cleaner, more sustainable future and affordable, practical options.”
Sustainable, affordable, and practical. For the grandchildren of the Prius, it’s not a reach goal. It’s reality.
Discover how Toyota is working towards a cleaner tomorrow, today.
