Toyota's pint-sized hybrid concept car part of new line
DETROIT — Toyota unveiled a new hybrid concept car that is smaller than the Prius and geared toward younger buyers, part of the company's hybrid and alternative-fuel lineup, which it is expanding over the next several years.
The Japanese automaker showed off the FT-CH compact Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and it confirmed it plans to expand the Prius brand from a single vehicle to a family of hybrids.
The FT-CH could be sold under the Prius name, Toyota said.
The plan to broaden the Prius brand is a sign of its success and of buyers' loyalty to them. The Prius, which launched in the U.S. in 2000, has long been the nation's top-selling hybrid and was the best-selling vehicle overall in Japan last year.
"The strategy is still taking shape, and obviously it will require additional models to qualify as a family," said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, a division of Toyota.
Hybrids run on batteries and gasoline.
Priuses would be marketed together to save on advertising costs, but there could be up to three models. It costs more than $100 million to launch a model name and win awareness with buyers, he said.
Toyota said the two-door FT-CH, 22 inches shorter than the Prius, is lighter and more fuel efficient.
