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The Toyota Prius dramatically left the Australian new car market in 2022 after 21 years on sale, however it could soon be making a return.
Speaking with CarsGuide, Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley said the company is now revisiting the Prius as a potential new model to relaunch locally.
“If you had asked me that question about two years ago, I would have said probably not,” said Hanley in response to a question asking whether the Prius will ever return to Australia.
“But two years later, I’d have to say to you, I probably think one day it could, but it’s a damn good-looking car, and I’m here in Japan, and I love it every time I see it.
“I even went back to my product planners and said, ‘Maybe we should have another look at that.’
“I’m here to tell you, we’re going to restart it over the next year or two.”
The Prius was Toyota’s first-ever hybrid vehicle and it launched globally in 1999, however it arrived in Australia in 2001.
Four generations of the Prius have been offered so far in Australia, though the latest fifth-generation model hasn’t officially been available. That hasn’t stopped people from bringing in grey import versions.
The Prius was a pioneer of hybrid powertrain technology back when it launched, but it slowly started to fade into oblivion in its latter years in Australia.
In its final full year of sales, which was 2021, only 77 examples of the Prius were sold.
A reason for the Prius’ local discontinuation was largely due to a number of other popular Toyota models now offering hybrid powertrains.
In fact, due to the overwhelming success of the hybrid powertrains in vehicles such as the Camry, Corolla and RAV4, Toyota Australia made the decision to make all its entire vehicle line-up (excluding off-road and GR vehicles) hybrid-only in 2024.
Globally the current, fifth-generation Prius is available with both hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains. It’s unclear which powertrains will be on offer if it comes to Australia.
“Plug-in hybrid, I think will be the flavour of the month,” said Hanley.
“I think you’ll see plug-in hybrids grow exponentially, particularly over the next five-year period.
“I would never rule out plug-in hybrids. I think they are credible technology. I think they’ll be well regarded. They’ll be in big demand in Australia.”
Toyota Australia will introduce its first PHEV in Australia in the form of the new-generation RAV4 PHEV in the third quarter of 2026.
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