Toyota Prius brand being lobbied for

Japanese automotive giant Toyota is likely to make its Prius hybrid model  part of a separate brand. The company is has confirmed it is considering a new Prius brand. Smaller and larger hybrid cars may be built under the new Prius sub-brand.

It is expected that the Prius brand would be similar to Scion, Toyota’s brand of lower-priced cars aimed at younger buyers. The Prius brand would include the original Prius as well as new models bearing a Prius nameplate that Toyota is currently designing.

Toyota is also likely to sell the new Prius brand of vehicles only in the United Sates car mart. The curent Toyota Prius is the 15th-best-selling vehicle in the US. The Prius acounts for 75 % of hybrid vehicles sold in the United States, and a separate Prius brand would enable Toyota to capitalise on the huge brand recognition and the iconic status of the original Prius.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the company has been successful in marketing the Scion and Lexus vehicles as a brand and could apply those lessons to Prius. Lentz is actively lobbying Toyota management for setting up a Prius sub-brand.

Toyota in fact is not planning to sell the proposed Prius brand of vehicles through separate outlets, the way it does with its Lexus models. The company is thinking of introducing a broader Prius lineup and would reach out to customers along with the Toyota cars through Toyota dealerships. Now with talks on the separate Prius brand gaining momentum, Toyota is said to be working overtime to bring al the attention of US customers to focus on Prius.

Meanwhile, the automotive giant is said to be currently planning a new version of the Prius. This model is expected to be a smaller one than the original Prius. Besides, this a bigger hybrid car to be sold under the Prius brand is also in the making. The company would unveil the next-generation version of Prius at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January 2009, along with the new hybrid car for its Lexus luxury brand.

The next-generation Prius , which will debut at the Detroit Show, would be bigger than the current car and initially will be built in Japan. Among the new cars that the company is currently building is the new crossover version of the Prius. Further, the models intended for Prius would be designed specifically as hybrids, it is believed.