The 2016 Toyota Prius will be released to the retail markets before the end of the year and it is expected that the hybrid vehicle shall have a more lustrous and shimmering profile than its predecessor.
A fully camouflaged test version of the 2016 Toyota Prius was again spotted in the streets of San Francisco. The cover is meant not to spoil the surprise when the vehicle is formally unveiled in the Los Angeles Motor Show in November, notes the Christian Today.
Priusfan500 actually shared the video on the Prius Chat forums of the fourth-generation Prius while undergoing test runs. Although the vehicle was fully covered, the latest sighting is reportedly the best and most groundbreaking ever with the 2016 Toyota Prius.
Back in May, the rear of the 2016 Toyota Prius was snapped at while undergoing test runs in Bangkok, Thailand.
It can be seen from the video clip that even though it is camouflaged, the main glasshouse of the 2016 Toyota Prius adapts the trademark styling of the Japanese carmaker.
The clip also gives fans a first look at the interior of the upcoming Prius which shows a centrally mounted instrument panel.
The 2016 Toyota Prius is also one of the first Toyota vehicles to make use of the Toyota New Global Architecture for a lower center of gravity and improved handling. The base model of the Prius will have the staple nickel-metal-hydride battery pack while the premium model might house a lithium-ion battery. The vehicle will also come with an all-wheel drive option.
Major discounts on current Prius
It is evident that a new Prius is forthcoming because the current range of the Toyota Prius hybrid cars has received significant discounts to keep its sales up even as the lineup ages and gas price remains low, notes Green Car Reports.
It has been the case in the past few months and it looks like the same pattern will continue in August.
Accordingly, the Toyota Prius V in San Francisco is getting a regional discount of as much as $4,000, which is far higher than the $2,750 price cut offered by the Japanese carmaker on the vehicle in July.
The overall discount includes a $2,500 rebate and a $1,500 bonus offer for buyers in San Francisco and its environs.
The rebates in most other regions remain largely unchanged, particularly the $1,500 discount in Los Angeles, where there is a huge demand for the hybrid vehicle.
Increasing the sales in the hybrid segment
The hybrid vehicle segment has been on the decline as of late because of falling fuel prices and the rising efficiency of conventional gasoline cars, not to mention the advent of fully-electric vehicles.
While the Toyota Prius is at the top of the leader board when it comes to hybrid vehicles, given its previous and consistent successes over the years, its efforts are still not enough to uplift or perk up the sagging segment.
Thus when the 2016 Toyota Prius is officially released to the retail markets this coming fall, it is expected that it will have the unenviable task of breathing new life into the flagging hybrid segment.
While the challenge will be great and many motoring experts believe that Toyota will be in a very tough position to do so, but the key to the hybrid market is no other than the Toyota Prius itself because the Prius is the hybrid segment in itself.
In 2014, Toyota sold 207,635 of the three combined Prius models, accounting for 42% of the hybrid market. The Prius is also by far, the best-selling hybrid in US history, having sold more than 1.8 million units since its debut in 2000 as a 2001 model.
However, Prius sales this year has dropped by 15.8% compared to last year, based on a recent study of Autodata Corporation. The figure is not just for Toyota Prius but for all other hybrids out in the market today.
So when the 2016 Toyota Prius rolls out to the market, it will be in for a challenging ride to once again stir the market from its seeming stupor.
One reason the Prius V may be getting big discounts is that the U.S. version is a dinosaur, not sold anywhere else except North America. The Europeans and Japanese get the 21st Century technology in their Prius V with lithium-ion batteries. They’re less bulky and enable those nations the ability to have a 3 row Prius V which the U.S. gets the two-row. Eventually, the U.S. will get the modern battery setup.