- Toyota says the swap away from Prime is a matter of simpler recognition
- In any other case, RAV4 and Prius plug-in hybrids carry over with few modifications
- Toyota’s bought essentially the most Prime PHEVs in California emissions states
Prime time has ended for Toyota plug-in hybrids, because the automaker makes a advertising transfer to recast them as interchangeable with plug-in hybrids from different automakers.
The automaker introduced on Thursday that it’s going to now not use its “Prime” badge for PHEVs beginning with the 2025 mannequin yr. Because it ushers out the RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime, it should exchange them with the 2025 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid and 2025 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, each additionally detailed at the moment with pricing, specs, and particulars in any other case principally carried over.
Based on Toyota, this isn’t an effort to realign the RAV4 Prime or its plug-in hybrids normally however to get them on the identical floor with different PHEVs.
“The swap to the RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid Electrical Automobile identify merely aligns the mannequin with the automotive trade naming conference,” Mike Tripp, Toyota’s group vp for advertising in North America, informed Inexperienced Automotive Stories.
2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE
Toyota believes that dropping the branding will assist clients extra simply establish the plug-in hybrids. “Shoppers have so many powertrain selections at the moment, so we’re shifting away from a model identify and adopting the PHEV trade conference to assist shoppers extra simply establish the electrified powertrain selections amongst RAV4, and all fashions with a number of electrified powertrains,” added Tripp.
With Prime gone, are Toyota PHEVs nonetheless premium?
The choice sounds, in some respects, like an about-face for why Toyota rolled out the Prime badge for its plug-in hybrids within the first place—which was to differentiate them from different PHEV entries available in the market because the best-performing in each means.
Versus different PHEVs of the time, Toyota innovated and outperformed with its Prime fashions. Toyota launched the Prime identify in 2016, with the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. The primary Prius Prime was among the many first plug-in autos to incorporate a warmth pump, and the present Toyota RAV4 Prime affords 42 miles electrical and turns into a 38-mpg hybrid after that, with 302 hp of mixed output. In a Toyota RAV4 Prime first drive we referred to as it “what a plug-in hybrid ought to be,” with sports-car fast acceleration and surprisingly nice EV mode off-road prowess.
2025 Toyota Camry
Toyota basically dodged GCR’s line of questioning about whether or not the brand new advertising angle is a part of a play towards larger gross sales quantity, affordability, or branching out to new consumers or areas—like what the model has finished for its hybrids through the years. At the moment, Toyota affords hybrid variations of practically the whole lineup, whereas the 2025 Camry goes all-hybrid, becoming a member of the Sienna and Crown households.
The automaker has waffled on messaging for plug-in autos and hybrids in recent times. As a part of a considerably tone-deaf “Electrified Diversified” marketing campaign in 2023, rolling out not lengthy after its totally electrical bZ4X arrived, Toyota tried to distinguish between battery EV, hybrid EV, plug-in EV, and fuel-cell EV powertrains—leaving the market muddled over whether or not the totally electrical fashions had been the plug-in EVs (actually plug-in hybrids) or battery EVs.
Greater than a fifth of Prius fashions bought with a cost port
For now, the Toyota model solely has the RAV4 and Prius plug-in hybrid fashions. Over model-year 2023, Toyota bought 57% of its RAV4 fashions in non-hybrid kind. The RAV4 Hybrid made up 37% of RAV4 gross sales, whereas the RAV4 Prime had the remaining 6% of gross sales. As for Prius, additionally wanting on the 2023 mannequin yr, Toyota bought 79% as hybrids, whereas the plug-in Prius Prime made up 21% of gross sales for the hybrid icon.
2023 Toyota Prius Prime
It ought to be famous that the RAV4 is a a lot stronger vendor total, although, so it amounted to a complete of 26,073 RAV4 Prime gross sales in calendar-year 2023 versus 7,557 Prius Prime gross sales.
Thus far Toyota seems to be sticking to a plug-in hybrid gross sales sample that works greatest with California Air Assets Board (CARB) laws. It’s by no means shocking that California is the highest state for each of those plug-in hybrid fashions. Behind the Golden State, Toyota lists New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington as prime states for the RAV4 Prime, and Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont for the Prius Prime—all so as of gross sales.
Most of these states observe CARB guidelines and upcoming Superior Clear Vehicles II requirements that may particularly incentivize longer-range PHEVs. Toyota has stated that in some markets it’s prepared to increase plug-in hybrid vary past 120 miles. So whereas it’s all set to ship these very sturdy PHEVs within the U.S., they in all probability received’t carry the identify Prime.
