New Prius inbound? Toyota's next electric car looks familiar in teaser picture - report

The Toyota Prius could enter the fully electric age as the Japanese brand teases a new EV that has a familiar silhouette in a shadowy picture.

Upon the reveal of the Toyota bZ3 for China, Toyota included a teaser image at the end of its announcement that confirmed another bZ model is currently in development.

Read More About Toyota Prius

2023 Toyota bZ3 electric car promises longer-lasting batteries compared to Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf Toyota takes on Tesla: Japanese giant to rewrite the electric car book to deliver cheaper EVs sooner Toyota drops hybrid hero: Pioneering Prius discontinued in Australia as eco icon's legacy lives on in almost every other mainstream Toyota model

While the teaser could be seen to be the global version of the bZ3, its silhouette and some of its features also look similar to a camouflaged Toyota Prius test car that was spotted getting around Toyota city last week.

The dots have been connected by a render from Japanese publication Best Car Web, which created a digital image of what it expects the next Prius to look like based on the available test mule spy shots.

The link between the bZ series of electric cars and the Toyota Prius is speculative, but given Toyota has reportedly hit the ‘reset’ button on its electric car development strategy to get things moving faster thanks to competition from Tesla, it’s possible even the hybrid Prius will lose its petrol power.

Further, the spy car seen by Japanese blog Car Moby in the city of Toyota (yes, named for the brand) is a left-hand drive car, so if it isn't strictly a Prius, it could be closely related to the bZ3. If it is simply a Prius, it's likely testing for the North American and European markets.

The physical similarity to the test mule, the Prius render by Best Car, and the shadowy teaser released by Toyota all point to a link between the bZ range and the next Prius, if not an amalgamation.

Render by Best Car Web

Whether the car in this teaser (edited by CarsGuide to increase visibility) is going to wear the Prius badge, whether it will be another Chinese market car, or just how much of an engineering link it will share with Toyota’s iconic electrification pioneer is unclear, but there’s no reason the Prius badge can’t make the shift to EV.

The Prius isn’t stuck in the same hybrid space it began, with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version available in international markets and the potential for the nameplate to be the car that brings Toyota PHEV to Australia.

Speaking to CarsGuide earlier this year, Toyota Australia vice-president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley said the badge isn’t done for in Australia, despite current-gen sales having been discontinued mid-year.

"We are rationalising the model line-up of Prius, but we're not going to drop the nameplate," Mr Hanley said.  

"It will continue and it very well could be the car that we look at for a plug-in hybrid in the future. 

Toyota Prius test mule spied by Car Moby

"We don't have any confirmation of that, but it's not a nameplate that will drop. It will just be a nameplate that will have a different role."

He pointed out that Prius is named for the latin word for ‘before’, and suggested the role of the model has often been to herald new tech as part of the brand’s electrification plans.

"So, it certainly was a leader of the new tech for us at the time, and as the automotive industry has evolved, the electrification strategy is unfolding and our hybrid offering is expanding, the role of Prius has changed.”