F&I Management & Training

Japanese carmaker Toyota is adding new models under its Prius petrol-electric hybrid label.

The move aims to capitalise on the green image of the Prius, which even rival carmakers say has become synonymous with hybrids.

"In the US, hybrid means Prius," said Jim O'Donnell, chief executive and president of BMW of North America.

"No other manufacturer sells significant numbers of their hybrid vehicles."

Toyota has clocked up sales approaching a million Prius cars in the US over the past decade.

"We're doing this because our customers told us they wanted all the benefits of Prius in a variety of vehicles," said Bob Carter, head of Toyota in the US.

The first new Prius to hit the road will be the Prius V, a family vehicle. A smaller Prius C is set to follow, as is a plug-in Prius.

"As the family expands, each member will be an all-new model, not a re-badged version of an existing Toyota hybrid," vowed Mr Carter.

'Best fuel economy'

The compact Prius C model is under development In the US, the third generation Prius, which was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in 2009, still "delivers the best fuel economy of any car without a plug sold in America", according to Mr Carter.

This is essentially because European rivals tend not to offer diesel versions of their cars in the US. In Europe, Prius is facing much tougher competition.

"Don't underestimate the differences between the US and Europe," says BMW's Mr O'Donnell.

"In the US, people are impressed with anything above 30 miles per gallon.

"And that's even when considering how the US gallon is much smaller than the UK one," he adds, referring to how a US gallon is equivalent to 0.83 UK gallons or 3.785 litres.

Even so, hybrid sales in the US command just 2% of the market, observes Mr O'Donnell.

"There's been so much hype about hybrids," he says, insisting that Americans would do well to also consider diesel, or perhaps even diesel hybrids, in their efforts to improve fuel economy