New generation Prime

A new Aqua in place of Prius for markets not able to support/endorse plug-in hybrids yet makes sense, especially where cars are still the dominant choice.

Here with the SUV/CUV obsession, the advantage of a raised floor for battery location makes sense too. After all, both that market and hatchbacks are mutating into a similar look & shape anyway. So, it's not that much of a stretch for the next Prius to take on more of those traits.

 

Here is some more detail (via Google translate):

　It is to expand the overall length and height of the size, improve the quality and shift to the advanced level. This should expand the living space in the room and improve usability. As for the power unit, the improved 1.5 hybrid is available from the conventional 2WD only to 4WD. Toyota Safety Sense is equipped as standard with evolutionary devices equal to or better than Yaris. There is also the possibility of changing the naming of "Aqua".

 

Toyota Prius c, which is called Toyota Aqua in Japan, is different. It's the best selling car of the last 20 years in Japan, but it's no longer available in the other parts of the world. It hasn't been updated since it was introduced in the late 2011; so, the current generation will be a ten-year-long one. As for the name, given the popularity of this car in Japan, I would guess that they will stick with Aqua. My 2021 Prius Prime Limited is also a deep shade of aqua, which must be a very Japanese color. It is a great color!

 

I would guess that a conversion of the Toyota Prius into the Toyota C-HR body is very, very unlikely, as it robs a huge chunk of the fuel economy. They will stick with the body type that generates the highest possible fuel economy, which is the current body type.

 

Here is another guess on Toyota's U.S. plans. Toyota and Mazda are building a factory in Alabama that will build a yet to be announced SUV for both companies starting around the end of next year. There will be two assembly lines, so they don't have to be rebadged versions of the same thing but it makes sense for them to be similar so they can share as many parts as possible.

Mazda announced last month that their new SUV will have a Toyota hybrid drivetrain. My guess, it will be the CorollaCross for Toyota and a variant for Mazda. Again, where does that leave Prius?

From Mazda's plan: "Plan to install THS (Toyota Hybrid System) on new SUV build in the new US plant"

If anyone wants to read the entire Mazda "medium term" plan: MAZDA: Medium-Term Plan| Management Policy.