Toyota South Africa axes hybrid pioneer from its model range

Since the original Prius – billed as the world’s first mass-production hybrid passenger vehicle at its launch in Japan in 1997 – wasn’t officially offered here in South Africa, the second-generation model marked the nameplate’s local debut way back in 2005.

The third generation touched down in 2009, with the fourth iteration following in mid-2016. A facelifted version was launched in South Africa in 2019 before yet more updates (including a generous addition of safety equipment) were rolled out two years later. The last list price we saw for the slow-selling Prius was R604,100.

Of course, in South Africa, this hybrid didn’t ever achieve the level of popularity it enjoyed in markets such as North America, where the original resonated particularly strongly with Hollywood stars keen to display their “green” credentials (a phenomenon that, in turn, influenced many an ordinary buyer in that country).

We sorted through sales figures submitted to Naamsa for the first eight months of 2022 and discovered just 11 units of the Prius were registered in South Africa over that period.

While it’s not clear whether there is any remaining stock in TSAM’s dealer network, the Japanese brand’s local division has confirmed to Cars.co.za that the Prius is no longer being imported.

The Toyota Prius: the outgoing model’s powertrain details

As a reminder, the latest XW50-generation Prius drew its urge from a hybrid powertrain comprising an electric motor, a battery pack and a 1.8l, four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle petrol engine.

Total system output stood at 90kW, while Toyota opted not to list a combined maximum torque figure (though the petrol mill made 142Nm and the electric motor generated 163Nm).

Drive was directed to the front axle through a continuously variable transmission.

Thanks to a dedicated EV mode enabling the Prius to operate under full-electric power, Toyota was able to claim a combined fuel economy figure of just 3.7ls per 100km, translating to a theoretical 1,162km range from the 43l fuel tank.

As a self-charging hybrid, the Prius had the ability to recuperate what would otherwise have been wasted energy during deceleration (including braking), storing it in the battery for later use. In addition, the petrol engine was capable of directly charging the battery pack in the absence of regenerative braking.

Though TSAM has called time on the Prius, it still markets a range of hybrid vehicles locally, including the Prospecton-produced Corolla Cross hybrid as well as dual-powered versions of the Corolla sedan and Rav.

From what we understand, more hybrid options are on the horizon, too. The local Lexus line-up, meanwhile, includes hybrid versions of the UX, ES, NX, IS, RX and LS.

This article was originally published on Cars.co.za...