Toyota broke out the party hats and noise makers—not sure if this really happened—to celebrate the 10th North American anniversary of the car that started the environmental performance craze, the Prius.
Ten years have passed since Toyota introduced the “wedge shaped” vehicle that features a hybrid gas/electric powertrain and quite frankly represents the epitome of efficiency, affordability and responsibility. Admittedly not the most titillating set of descriptors but isn’t sustainability sexy enough on its own?
"Toyota recognized in the 1990s that sustainable transportation would become a huge challenge in the coming decades," said Jim Lentz, president and COO of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. "Those realizations proved accurate, and if anything, even more profound considering what we know today."
When the Prius made its North American debut in July of 2000, gas was a mere $1.50 per gallon and the BP oil spill was still a decade into the future. Coincidentally the same year, the Hummer H2 was causing quite the buzz at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Not surprisingly, these set of circumstances lead Toyota to conservatively estimate sales of the Prius at 12,000 units per year. Needless to say those estimate were indeed modest, the little hybrid that could has sold over 900,000 times in the U.S. alone.
And for those of you who like to take a walk down memory lane, Toyota has provided a Prius timeline. Have a box of tissues ready this may get emotional:
1990: Meetings begin concept work on Project G21, "a car for the 21st Century", in Toyota City and Higashifugi Technical Center. Fuel economy target was 20 kilometers per liter, about 50% better than other passenger cars of the time.
1994 (January): Project team addresses drivetrain, chassis and packaging decisions. The team was granted the right to develop new parts from scratch "if necessary."
1994 (July): G21 Project, Phase III begins, accelerating development for production of the Prius parallel to development of Toyota's experimental hybrid system.
1995 (June): Toyota Hybrid System approved and code-named 890T.
1995 (October): Hybrid concept Prius displayed at Tokyo Motor Show with propulsion system described as Toyota-EMS ("Energy Management System").
1996 (December): Anticipating the future EV and hybrid vehicle market, Panasonic EV Energy was established as a joint venture between Matsushita and Toyota.
1997 (December): Gen 1 Prius launched in Japan after a final design period of 17 months. Wins Japan Car of the Year award and Global Climate Protection Award from the U.S. EPA, among other accolades.
1998: Announced in July that Toyota would export 20,000 units annually to North America and Europe.
2000: Post-Prius era of automotive history begins. From this time on, the concept of environmental performance begins to take root, and all economy cars would be compared to the Prius.
2003: Prius sales hit 24,000 units, double the number originally planned.
2004: Second generation Prius launched, called "Car of the Year" by Motor Trend Magazine.
2007: Total U.S. Prius sales reach 500,000 units since it first launched in July 2000.
2008: National average gas prices hit $4.09 per gallon on July 7.
2009: Third generation Prius launched as 2010 model with larger 1.8-liter engine, 0.25 coefficient of drag and 51 mpg City.
Happy 10th anniversary Prius.
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