One thing that’s interesting to note about this situation that doesn’t have much to do with the Prius itself, is that people seem to be paying a lot more attention to the “green” aspect of their cars lately, and we’ve been seeing a significant shift in the market in this direction.
Toyota are quite smart to capitalize on that situation with the release of the 2017 Prius Prime, as they’ve been specifically addressing some of its green features when promoting the car, making it a much more attractive offer than those put forward by their competition.
There’s a reason the Prius is still one of the main model names associated with the whole “green car” movement though, and the brand name is actually quite the valuable asset for the company right now.
That’s also one of the major reasons why the performance of the new Prius on the market is actually quite important. If the car manages to succeed, it will surely inspire other manufacturers to pay more attention to the green designs of their cars, and as a result, the market as a whole is going to improve.
But it will take some time before we get there, so for now, let’s see how the 2017 Prius Prime is going to perform, and whether it will establish the position Toyota have been aiming for with this release.