Toyota Plan to Create A New Brand, Prius, to Market its Hybrid Vehicles

It's usually General Motors that gets picked on for having too many brands under its umbrella, getting dissed for some parts and platform sharing, but today, we switch gears to another company. Word on the street is that Toyota is planning to create a separate brand to market its hybrid vehicles, and the most likely candidate for the brand's name is Prius.


What this means is that after 2011 model year, there will be no hybrids carrying the Toyota badge. They will become Priuses. The styling will be "markedly different from their Toyota counterparts with unique sheet metal and hybrid powertrains." For the time being, they're dubbing the three upcoming Prius models simply as Prius A, Prius B, and Prius C. These will range in size from that of the Yaris to that of a Camry, with launches scheduled between 2009 and 2011.

Where this leaves the Highlander Hybrid SUV, for example, remains to be seen. That and I'm not too sure if this is the right move, considering that the Toyota brand is already associated with fuel economy and environmental friendliness. By contrast, I can appreciate the "need" for a premium brand (Lexus) or even a "hip" brand (Scion), but a Prius "I love the environment" brand sounds redundant.


Written by Jeff Strickler
Published in Automobiles