A quarter-century after launching the first Prius, Toyota Tuesday introduced its 19th hybrid, the 2025 4Runner. The automaker’s “portfolio approach,” offering a mix of hybrids, PHEVs, EVs and fuel-cell vehicles has become controversial — but may be vindicated by slowing growth in the EV market. In this Q&A, Toyota’s U.S. brand boss David Christ talks about why giving customers a choice makes sense — while also laying out plans for even more electrified models in the near future.
The Ford Maverick pickup has delivered a major hit for the Detroit automaker — and much of the credit goes to the hybrid version of the little pickup which accounted for nearly half of its record sales in February. Hybrids, in general, are setting all-time highs as automakers bring more to market and position them as a bridge between gas and all-electric drivetrain technologies. Read the story at Headlight.News.
He’s warned that the switch to battery-electric vehicles could seriously harm the auto industry. And even though his successor as Toyota CEO has committed more resources to EVs, Akio Toyoda continues to see a future in which hybrids and other alternatives dominate the global market. More from Headlight.News.
Since it made its debut a full quarter-century ago, there’ve certainly been reasons to praise the Toyota Prius for its fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain. But it hasn’t scored big in either the performance or fun-to-drive categories. Now, with the latest-generation hatchback, it’s an entirely new game. And it’s won over our reviewer.
A jury of 50 U.S. and Canadian journalists narrowed down an extensive field of new vehicles, with three models named the winners of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. At a ceremony in Detroit, the Toyota Prius was named Car of the Year, the Ford Super Duty taking top honors in the truck category. And the Kia EV9 was named Utility Vehicle of the year.
As the world’s first high-volume gas-electric hybrid, Toyota showed how far you could stretch a gallon of gas. But, with last year’s launch of the fifth-generation Prius, the automaker also shows that hybrids can be not only attractive but fun to drive. Might the Japanese giant be ready to take the fun factor to new levels? That’s a distinct possibility, rumors from Japan suggesting it has a GR edition in the works.