Toyota Axes the Prius c in Favor of Corolla Hybrid
We recently published an article that explained why Toyota did not believe the new Corolla Hybrid would cut into the Prius market, but it seems the automaker has gone back at least partly on that conviction.
The Japanese manufacturer has just announced it will discontinue the Prius c, the hybrid hatchback that had debuted in the United States in 2012. “You’re probably not going to see the Prius c for long,” said Ed Laukes, a Toyota marketing group VP. “The Prius c has served its purpose well.”
With only 700 models left in stock and a reduced number of trim levels available for 2019, Toyota is preparing to transition to the Corolla Hybrid as early as the next couple of months.
Related: Why buy a Toyota hybrid?
The new car will go on sale in spring with a fuel economy of 53 mpg in the city, 52 mpg on the highway, and 52 mpg combined. These figures are well ahead of the Prius c’s 48/43/46 mpg city/highway/combined and will even produce more 22 more horsepower.
Strangely, however, the Corolla Hybrid does not overlap much with the Prius c in terms of dimensions. In fact, it’s far more closely related to the regular Prius, though the styling is markedly different.
In other words, there’s still a good chance the car will eat into Prius sales, though it’s possible it will instead recapture sales that had been lost as a result of the new-generation Prius’s polarizing styling. In any case, Toyota will hope to have done its market research right.
Related: 2019 Toyota Prius c overview
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