Toyota recently expanded its all-electric offering with the China-only bZ3 sedan joining the globally available bZ4x crossover. As you may recall, it also teased the mysterious third model part of its EV Beyond Zero lineup. Fast forward to today, the company’s green ambitions are being previewed with a shadow teaser of a new eco-friendly model. This time, it’s a hybrid rather than a pure electric model, but what is it?
We’ll have a definitive answer a week from today as Toyota says the premiere is scheduled to take place on November 16. An adjacent cryptic teaser was released on the company’s Japanese social media channels. A dedicated section on the automaker’s website for the domestic market is up and running with zero details, except for the debut date. It doesn’t say what we saw, but we know it’s a hybrid rather than an EV.
The two teasers right above show the letters “Hybrid Reborn” while the silhouette belongs to a swoopy sedan/liftback. Can we deal with the next generation Prius? The use of the word “born again” hints that this is a fresh take on the existing model rather than a new addition to the lineup. The fourth-generation Prius has been around since 2015, so the timeline makes sense for its successor to go on sale next year. Although the teased bZ model has a somewhat similar profile, it’s a different car as the models with the bZ badge will all be EVs.
It’s been a while since we last talked about the Prius. In December 2021, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Toyota Europe Andrea Carlucci said Autocar: “He [Prius] have to maintain a role, and we have to make sure that it will always be at the forefront of that kind of technology, so – although I can’t reveal much – we don’t want to waste our icon, even for the future.” At the time, rumors pointed to a December 2022 reveal, which wouldn’t be too far from the truth.
It’s believed the next-generation Prius will continue in hybrid and plug-in hybrid configurations but there are interesting rumors about a third flavor with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine to be released in 2025.
