Glad I didn't buy a Gen 4

The Gen 5 Prius is currently one of the best-selling Toyotas.

There’s only a single electric car that’s outselling the Toyota Prius hybrid

 

I'm sorry, but I just have a tough time with that. The gen5 is absolutely doing well with a strong uptick in sales since the redesign, but I have a hard time believing it's the #1 selling hybrid. I have to believe the Corolla Hybrid and Camry are outselling it.

edit: Ohhh, now I see what the article is trying to do. It's not comparing the Prius to other hybrids, it's only comparing it to fully electric cars like Teslas, Lucids, and GM/Ford/Toyota/etc. BEVs. That makes a little more sense.





As a side note, 2025 will be the first calendar year of full gen5 production. 2023 and 2024 were both about 9-10 months of full production. Toyota spent the first few months of 2023 ramping up the new production line and working out all the bugs. And two full months of production was lost in 2024(April 15 to Jun 15) due to the rear door switch issue. 2025 will likely be affected by tariffs and the end of the EV tax credit, but those should apply fairly evenly to all Toyota models and not just the Prius.

 

It is selling well for a small car, better than the much cheaper Corolla Hybrid.

Of course, it is being dwarfed by the Camry Hybrid, but that is a large car.

Therefore, I see no reason for a Gen 6 not to happen. Prius is their flagship small car. We could also see a BEV Prius in Gen 6, and the PHEV version might see a BEV range of 100 miles.

I am looking forward to the details on TSS 4.0 to be announced in October or so along with the 2026 RAV4. I don’t expect anything groundbreaking, but the over-the-air updates though the Arene platform will keep it dynamically improving.

Toyota Motor North America reports June, second-quarter 2025 U.S. sales results—Toyota USA newsroom

 

Yeah, the positive bump has been noticeable. I slapped together a super simple chart of Prius sales in the US from 2000-2025. I might go back and make an annotated version later, but it's almost the first trivia night this fall at the local bar and I've got to get going. The 2025 number is projected from the 1st half sales. Sales figures are in thousands.

 

Just as with "Corolla" and "Camry", the name has enormous value and wouldn't be discontinued without a compelling reason.

The Prius has been the Corolla sized weirder and pricier car in this generation, and with the stigma reduced, the name still has utility in addressing its niche in the market.

 

Yep 100% agree... One of the rare times, if ever, I'll agree with @Hammersmith

Truth is Gen5 Prius isn't even in the top 13 hybrids cars in 2025 according to loser Google search, which cares more about selling ads than giving an honest answer:



Additionally, according to ChatGPT, which is far more reliable than Google ad based search, Gen5 Prius is ranked 8th in the top 10... That's a long ways away from the lie that they're #1:

 

The compelling reason for discontinuing the Prius is the sales numbers showing the end of its lifespan as a model... No other Toyota product has a more miserable decline over the past quarter century.


Source: ChatGPT - Prius sales chart 2000-2025

 

The article already acknowledges the Camry Hybrid. You also need to exclude SUVs and trucks, which sell many times more than cars in the US.

If you exclude cars and trucks, the Prius EV (both the HEV and PHEV) seems to be No. 2 after the Camry HEV, albeit the Model 3 BEV might still be ahead, but the tax credits ending will subdue it. Moreover, the Prius sales are growing exponentially every month, and by the end of the year, they may exceed 100,000. Accord HEV sales were higher, but Prius has now taken over them in August.

So, yes, the Prius sales are exponentially growing at the moment.

 

Except, the 2025 sales will hit about 300,000 again, similar to the golden years. So, a new Prius era seems to have started.

 

@Grit, new quote material.

 

That would be an insight if Toyota were stuck making the model that showed the miserable decline, but it isn't.

Prius, Caprice, Camry, and Mustang are IP properties with a value not limited to a single specific model. When GM made Caprices and Roadmasters, the point wasn't that they were bringing back a specific car design, but a model with an older existing name. The E-Mustang may have little resemblance to recent Mustang models, but Ford owns it and can stick it on whatever they like.

You could be right -- the "Prius" subculture could evanesce and the Prius name be remembered as an historical artifact, but it wouldn't be because the Gen 4 Prius showed modest sales. It would be because Toyota thought they found a better name for whichever car they develop for that niche.

 

Maybe if you provided a valid reference we'd take you seriously?

 

Maybe if you provided a valid reference we'd take you seriously?

 

September/Q3 US sales were reported today. The average gain for the HEV/PHEV models from the previous year is currently at 63%. It looks like the gain increase has been slowing down. The year-end global sales will still see around 200,000, reaching the Gen 2 and late Gen 3 era. You should also realize that back in those days, the Prius was the only fuel-efficient car. 200,000 is still amazing for a small car with a lot more fuel-efficient cars (as in BEVs getting 140 mpge) around today.

Toyota Motor North America reports September, third-quarter 2025 U.S. sales results—Toyota USA newsroom

 

So true! When my wife's 2024 Corolla Hybrid finally came in, they brought us into the finance office to pay and they guy had to go over a long list of "add ons" were could do. I added them all up in my head and came out to around $7,000....WHAT? But I did spring for the tinted windows and clear coat protection for the front of the car and side mirrors....our cars without it have lots of dings on the front from rocks on the road in the winter. I didn't spring for the Toyota extended warranty but will get the best one they have when I buy a new Tundra....I heard the V-6 engines they are using are having about a 5% fail rate and they used to be around .5%....which isn't good news.

 

Adjusted for the inflation, Prius is a lot cheaper now than when you bought yours, and it is a far better and more advanced car. Those add-ons have always been there, and they vary greatly from dealer to dealer. Some have none. You can ask them to remove them or walk away.

 

In Canada, where Mendel lives, unless I've lost track of the provincial laws, regulations force dealers to put the MSRP and out the door price as their advertised price, and they are not allowed to force add ons with any purchase. We do not have port installed options. If you want anything beyond the car itself with registration and admin fees (capped as well, and listed as part of the MSRP quote with tax when you look online), you add it in the finance office, and then you get the car after they install that stuff.

So there aren't any dealer markups, or special packages you can't remove, and they can't just add "market adjustments" if the car is in demand. Used cars are different, since they don't really have an MSRP, but new cars do and they can't just upcharge on that here.

 

Regarding the price tag, a Gen 2 Prius cost about $26,000 when I was shopping for a Toyota in 2008. Adjusted for inflation, that is $40,000 today. A Gen 5 Prius XLE costs $33,000. So much for the cars having got expensive. Not to mention that today, you are getting a lot more car for your buck with all the ADAS radars and cameras and others bells and whistles, better and more fuel-efficient engines and powertrains, improved safety all around and so on (I guess, minus the spare tire).

 

i paid 20k for my package 2 2008. i think msrp was 21k?

 

I pointed it out earlier in the thread, but the biggest issue for the price argument is that, in Canada, we don't have the base model anymore for the prius. We only have the PHEV with it's base model. When comparing similar trims in the past, pricing is fairly similar here as well, and of course - all the tech advancements are a big value-add dollar for dollar as well after adjusting for inflation.

Mind you, over time, most people's compensation has not kept pace with inflation, so in real terms, I can see how the cars can *feel* more expensive than they were in the past. I do however think that, as you pointed out, the prius is going to stick around in some way. It's a good brand, and its a strong one, plus as the economy worsens people are going to want more affordable *ongoing cost* cars. A prius might be expensive, but its smaller than a RAV4, it uses less gas (even if we compare the RAV4 hybrid), it has smaller and cheaper tire options (even with the weird prius sizing), its also cheaper sticker price too. And sure there's a corolla hybrid, but the prius is better styled, is still a liftback/hatchback, has more power, has a nicer interior, and isn't that much more. For a young professional who may want to keep costs lower but want a newer car with a reputation for reliability, the prius is going to capture that segment very well.

Whenever an economy worsens, smaller cars historically sell better because of the total cost of ownership being lower. With the price of EVs being high, a hybrid is a more attractive option, and the PHEV is a great compromise to still be mostly green and have lower maintenance and ongoing costs, and it is probably where the prius does the best. I have tried other PHEVs, I've tried other hybrids in general. Toyota, for me, is still the smoothest transition between EV/ICE operations too, which makes the premium for the toyota brand worth it. NVH isn't the GREATEST, but in this price range and class of car, I still think the prius is the best option. Which is why I think it has staying power.

Had they not restyled the car, had they not tried to add more power with similar fuel efficiency, had they just let it become the corolla with a hatchback and similar power and efficiency, then sure, it loses its value. But if remains the flagship, slightly nicer small car hybrid, it has a place. And I do think even so, it might become a BEV platform for something smaller than the CHR EV, or maybe it becomes a longer range PHEV in gen 6 and pushes towards being a PHEV forward nameplate without the normal hybrid offerings. But I think the name carries lots of weight and isn't about to be dropped. Not soon anyway. That's my perspective. Sales aren't so bad that they're gonna drop it like they did the Tercel for example.