Toyota: Prius will be #1 nameplate in industry by 2020

2011-01-04

In the first ten years that the Toyota Prius has been driving North American roads, it has come to dominantly define the term "hybrid" in the public mind. In Japan, the world's best-selling hybrid is also the top-selling car " of any type " for the past year and a half. The Prius may not be the most rational car purchase around, but that hasn't stopped over 2 million people from buying one. So, where does Toyota go from here? Apparently, if things go the way the automaker hopes, the Prius Family will become, "the number one nameplate in the industry" by 2020. That's what Toyota's group vice president for U.S. sales Bob Carter told anaysts recently, explaining that the company's best-selling Camry will drop to a close second. Camry sales will remain strong, Carter predicted, but the fuel-efficient Prius family of vehicles will overtake them. At next week's Detroit Auto Show, Toyota will have four Prius models on display: the standard, third-gen model; the Prius Plug-In; a new Prius minivan/MPV; and a new Prius concept vehicle. What will the stand look like in ten years? [Source: Bloomberg]