Toyota’s Next Prius: Lighter, More Efficient, Less Expensive

Toyota Motor Corp. intends to make its fourth-generation Prius hybrid more powerful, stylish and efficient but also lighter and simpler to make.

Toyota tells Automotive News the hybrid's new gasoline engine will reach thermal efficiencies above 40% compared with 38.5% for the powerplant in the current car. The company also appears ready to switch the entire Prius line from nickel-metal hydride batteries to more powerful lithium-ion systems.

AN reports the weight of the next Prius will be as much as 20% lighter, thanks to the new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). The first of the company's models to use the modular system will hit the market next year, but Toyota isn't saying if it will be a Prius.

Toyota has indicated the next Prius will feature a dramatically different look. The TNGA program dictates vehicles with a sportier, lower and more athletic stance, AN notes. It also points out that switching Prius to the new platform may kill plans for U.S. production, at least until enough models built in North America also move to the TNGA architecture.

Toyota has been able to hike the fuel efficiency of the Prius about 10% with each iteration. Company engineers say it is becoming more difficult to maintain that pace as hybrid technology matures. But they tell AN their target for the next model is an improvement of at least 8%.