Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Simon Humphries, Senior General Manager of Global Toyota design, and I appreciate you joining me today. Let’s dive straight into talking about the Prius.
In today’s automotive landscape, dominated by discussions around Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), a common question arises: “How long will you keep producing hybrids?” It’s a valid question, and today, I want to offer insights into the passionate journey behind the next generation Prius. This includes sharing a fascinating “struggle” between our president, Akio Toyoda, and the development team regarding the direction we should take this iconic vehicle.
The Toyota Prius, whose name originates from the Latin word for “pioneer,” first debuted in 1997. Since its inception, Toyota has globally sold over 20.3 million hybrid vehicles. This commitment to hybrid technology has resulted in a significant reduction of approximately 162 million tons of CO2 emissions worldwide. To put this into perspective, Japan has achieved a 23% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to levels from 20 years prior, a considerable achievement on the global stage. In North America alone, Toyota’s hybrid sales have exceeded 5.2 million vehicles, contributing to an emissions reduction of around 82 million tons.
However, the Prius’s most significant achievement extends beyond mere numbers. It successfully introduced a viable alternative to traditional gasoline and diesel engines. This pioneering spirit paved the way for the widespread adoption and advancement of hybrid technology, not just within Toyota, but across the entire automotive industry. The Prius opened the automotive world’s mind to a different, more sustainable way of thinking about personal transportation.
Now, in 2022, the context has evolved. Carbon neutrality is a central theme in every conversation about the future of mobility. Alongside the continued relevance of hybrids, BEVs are experiencing remarkable technological advancements and solidifying their position as a cornerstone of the automotive future. Toyota, as Akio Toyoda articulated at our BEV event last year with the vision of “an EV for everyone,” has fully embraced BEVs as a crucial element of our comprehensive product strategy. We have begun introducing a diverse range of compelling electric vehicles designed to meet the varied needs of our global customer base, complementing our existing hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell technologies.
Yet, as Akio Toyoda himself states, “BEVs are a vital solution, but they aren’t universally the best option for everyone. In a world as diverse as ours, a variety of solutions are necessary.” Despite these explanations, the persistent question remains: “How long will Toyota continue to produce hybrids?”
In response to this, Akio Toyoda firmly insisted, “The Prius is a model that must be preserved.”
But why such conviction?
The rationale is simple yet profound: the Prius represents an accessible eco-car for everyone. Achieving global carbon neutrality demands widespread participation, requiring ecological solutions that are within reach of the majority, not just a select few. This transition needs to start now, not in some distant future. Toyota firmly believes that eco-cars can only make a meaningful environmental contribution if they achieve widespread adoption. From this perspective, the Prius is designed as a car for the masses. It’s intended to be driven by everyone, embodying inclusivity rather than exclusivity. This accessibility is its core strength and the fundamental reason for its continued existence and evolution. This is why the Prius brand should not only endure but flourish.
While there was unanimous agreement on these overarching goals during the development phase, the methods to achieve them sparked considerable debate. A central question emerged: should the next generation Prius prioritize becoming a practical “Commodity” or evolve into something truly desirable, something to “Love”? Akio Toyoda initially proposed that the Prius should evolve towards becoming an ultimate “commodity.”
His proposition was bold: “Why not transform the next Prius into a taxi?” By significantly increasing the number of Prius vehicles in high-usage, high-mileage scenarios like taxi fleets, the environmental contribution, in terms of emissions reduction, would be amplified by volume. He further suggested exploring opportunities to offer the Prius as an OEM vehicle to other manufacturers. This strategy would extend the reach of Prius’s proven environmental technology, cultivated over many years, beyond the confines of the Toyota Group, making it available across manufacturer boundaries.
However, our design and development team held a different vision. We were driven by the belief in another path forward. We aimed to create a car that customers would choose not only for its rational advantages—its efficiency and practicality—but also for the emotional connection it fostered, for the sheer joy of owning and driving it.
Undoubtedly, prioritizing rationality, exceptional fuel efficiency, and other quantifiable metrics imposes numerous constraints on design and development, making the creation of a truly inspiring car a significant challenge. Yet, we firmly believed that the next evolutionary step for the Prius was to become a “car without compromises,” enhancing its appeal to a broader customer base by fulfilling both rational needs and emotional desires. A car that is loved for more than just its impressive statistics.
I honestly believe Akio Toyoda harbored doubts about our ability to realize this ambitious vision, especially considering the design hurdles we had encountered in the past. However, crucially, he didn’t dismiss our approach. Instead, he gave us the opportunity to prove our concept, acknowledging that our team’s choice to pursue “love” over pure “commodification” was “interesting.” And when he finally saw the culmination of our efforts, the final design of the New Prius, his reaction was immediate and unequivocally positive: “That’s cool!”
This new Prius represents our commitment to building not just environmentally conscious vehicles, but vehicles that resonate emotionally, proving that eco-friendliness and desirability can coexist beautifully. The new Prius is not just a step forward for hybrid technology; it’s a leap towards a future where sustainable choices are also passionate choices.
