Toyota will unify the design of all future hybrids, a new report finds. Toyota is planning to make the change in order for vehicles like the Camry Hybrid to be more recognizable as “green” vehicles. So far this year, the distinctive Prius has sold 140,000 compared to just 40,000 Camry Hybrids.
Toyota is in the final stages of creating the unified look but is being tight-lipped about the details. “We already have some kind of design hypothesis that we’d like to use, and we need to find out whether it is well-accepted in the market,” said Toyota’s chief designer, Wahei Hirai, in an interview with Automotive News. “We’d like to use that kind of design language in each hybrid car.”
The new look is said to draw styling cues from the Prius but “have more free-form angles and lines in the body panels.” Toyota calls the look a “perfect imbalance.”
Toyota’s 1/X Concept –set to debut later this month at the Tokyo Motor Show — will likely give a glimpse of what the next-generation Prius will look like, as well as other future hybrids from Toyota.
Last year, Toyota designer, Jin Won Kim, hinted in an interview with the Detroit News that Toyota would use a unique design theme for all future hybrid models.
Ford also sees merit in giving its hybrids unique styling not found on gas models and is planning to employ the new design philosophy on the next generation Escape.
