Toyota will sell the new Prius only as a plug-in hybrid in European markets to promote the car as a technology trailblazer.
Toyota unveiled the Prius on Wednesday with a sleeker, sportier redesign and a new range of more powerful drivetrains.
The fifth-generation of the compact car has been engineered as a full hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, but Toyota Europe has focused on the high-powered plug-in version.
The Prius “has always inspired the future of other models and the new generation continues that pioneering spirit,” Toyota Europe said in a statement.
The Prius’s new plug-in hybrid drivetrain comprises a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and a beefed up electric motor that provide a combined power output of 223 hp, up from 122 hp in the current plug-in version.
The electric-only driving range in the new plug-in variant increases by more than 50 percent, thanks to a bigger 13.6-kilowatt hour lithium ion battery, Toyota said.
The automaker did not release details of the electric only range. It also did not release CO2 emission figures. The current Prius plug-in uses a 8.8 kWh battery and has a range of 55 km (34 miles).
The plug-in version accerelates from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 6.7 seconds, compard with 11.1 seconds in the current model.
The fifth-generation Prius enters production in December at the company’s Tsutsumi assembly plant in Toyota City, where the outgoing version is built.
The updated coupe-themed styling starts with updated front end that employs the new ‘hammerhead’ language seen in the bZ4X all-electric crossover.
The car is built on the second-generation GA-C platform of the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), which Toyota says reduces weight and increases rigidity.
The automaker achieved a lower center of gravity by moving the battery under the rear seats.