Originally published on EV Obsession.
Despite the fact that the recently unveiled Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid doesn’t possess much of an all-electric range — and doesn’t on the surface appear to be a serious attempt to compete with the other plug-in hybrids out there currently — the company sold quite a few of them. Now, Toyota is apparently aiming to sell around 60,000 units a year worldwide of the new, longer-range Prius Prime PHEV.
These stated targets originate with an unnamed “top Toyota Motor Corporation engineer” (possibly the top Prius engineer himself, Koji Toyoshima) and seem to be solid. One has to wonder, though, what markets these sales will be occurring in — the Prius Prime doesn’t, at first glance anyways, appear to be a vehicle that will sell well. (The Volt looks much more attractive for many consumers, and Europe is packed full of EU-manufactured PHEVs. It’s unclear how much demand there really is in Japan for such a car.)
Interestingly, the unnamed source also stated that the first Prius plug-in hybrid (PHEV) was a “failure.”
Automotive News notes that apparently half of that figure of 60,000 units sold annually relates to North American sales….
“Toyota is targeting 60,000 sales a year for the upcoming Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, nearly as many as the previous-generation Prius PHV sold cumulatively since its 2012 launch. About half that volume will come from North America, while Japan chips in roughly the other half.”
Sales in the European market are expected to be negligible, according to the source.
Despite the limited all-electric range of the Prius Prime (~22 miles per charge), the model is expected to possess a very substantial miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating — possibly a very strong selling point for some.
Pricing for the model remains an unknown. With an expectation of 60,000 units a year, the pricing may well be very competitive…. Or company execs may simply be delusional.
We’ll know which is the case closer to the launch, once pricing information is released. The Japanese launch is expected this fall, with the global launch following soon thereafter.
(Tip of the hat to “RubberToe” on the Tesla Motors Club forum.)
Related: Is Toyota Finally Shifting To Real Battery-Electric Cars?
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