Prius to Become Toyota’s Next Brand

Toyota starting to look a lot like GM...

Yeah, not a smart move for Toyota IMO.

I totally agree, I love Toyota/Lexus now, but my fear that someday Toyota/Lexus will be Chevy/Cadilac today.
Maybe then I'll start driving Hyundai's, who knows.

I said it once months ago and I will say it again! Toyota = the next GM.

It's like starting another brand and hoping it will work. People buy a Toyota because it has Toyota on it. If they name it Prius some may think the quality may differ as well. It's hard to explain but I think naturally people will be thinking of Prius like another Scion-type brand ( a brand in which I think is pointless ). They should have made the Scion TC the next generation Celica when it came out and scratch the rest of the models they have to offer. With Prius it will take some time for the name to be exposed.

What effect does this have on Lexus?

Does Toyota just want to appear like they are even bigger because they can say they have many companies under them. Like VW AG has RR, Audi, Bugatti, etc for example. It really won't change a thing imo

old news...very old

old and purely speculative. this is never going to happen, it goes against everything that Toyota has planned for.

I can see where Toyota would think it's a good idea: creating a new brand of car that is completely made up of hybrids. That's a good idea because they would be the first automaker to do this.

Hmm, Lexus isn't seen as anything but a Toyota, nor will these Prius models. I think they sell everything under what they are, the Toyota name everyone is familiar with and respects.

Doesn't this aritcle contradict another article that came out a few weeks ago? The other article made claims that hybrid's are the wave to future and Toyota was planning on making their whole line up have a hybrid option by I think 2020.

I like it. Scion is doing exceedingly well, even though everybody know its a "Toyota".

The general public buys up Lexus in droves even though they know it's a Toyota, but they want the luxury image.

Similarly, buying a Prius demonstrates you are "environmentally aware" - perfect for the hipster crowd looking for a way to publicize their way of life. Smart marketing. You people who are laughing are not the target audience of Priuses - it's the fresh idealistic college students looking for a cool first car, but don't want a Scion.

Hybrid cars should be distinctive. A Camry hybrid is beautiful, but it still looks like an ordinary Camry. A hybrid car should be
more environmentally friendly, more affordable(fuel economy-service-less expensive),
practical, roomy, aerodynamic and futuristic.

Very good move from Toyota, I must say. Furthermore
"Prius" will be forever engraved
as the action that changed the flow of history.

Camry hybrid, "beautiful?" Are you crazy?

Does that mean no more Lexus Hybrids?

I don't think this is a bad idea, it's not really a good one either.

mkk21 is right this is a contradiction from previous information about all of Toyota's cars being Hybrids.

"Does that mean no more Lexus Hybrids?"

"After the 2011 model year, Toyota hybrids will no longer be sold under the Toyota nameplate, but instead under the Prius brand."

Eye-catching

This is journalism at its worst. No sources, pure speculation, no basis in any facts, contradicts everything else. This is never going to happen.

this is pointless and it will just take sells away from toyota and lexus. because people will just buy all the hybrids.

Exactly.
Speaking from a non-US resident point of view, I cannot understand how Caddy, Buick, Saturn, Pontiac and Chevvy don't overlap.
Buick is suddenly luxury with the Enclave, but Caddy is the luxury brand, Pontiac is the sports brand, yet Chevvy has the SS models and the Corvette and Saturn has the Sky, there are 3 versions of the same truck (Escalade, Tahoe, Yukon), which are all somehow luxurious...if it were me running GM I would
1. Kill Buick
2. Kill Pontiac
3. Ensure sporty models are spread around correctly, with no SS badges for the hell of it (Caddy has -V, Saturn Red Line, Chevvy SS)
4. Make Saturn a small car brand (Aura or less, no SUV)
5. Get rid of the Korean Chevvy/Daewoos
6. Make GMC the pick-up brand, no pick-ups for anyone else, but price from low to fairly premium.
7. Give Caddy a smaller SUV ie 5 seater Sporty SUV.
8. Give Saturn the European Opels.
9. Give Chevvy Australian Holdens.
10. Give Caddy a RWD flagship, a proper 7 series/LS rival.
11. Make Saturn the more eco-friendly brand, with efficient diesels from Europe and a proper hybrid.
12. Increase fuel efficiency across the range (diesels for cars like Impala)
13. Offer more diesels, especially in trucks.
14. Don't lose luxury side of Caddy to keep the Buick customers, make a no cost suspension option, either floaty light or sportier, give a choice.
15. Upgrade interior quality across range, especially in Caddy
16. Ensure there are cheaper pick-ups to appeal to workers.
17. Bring back some wagons ie Saturn Aura wagon or Impala wagon.

Difficult perhaps, and some may not agree, but I think necessary.

Screw number 4, give Saturn an SUV but make them an interesting mid range brand, with eco emphasis. Performance hybrids.

I just don't know if they could pull of "killing" Buick. As horrible as some of Buick's cars are, they have an extremely loyal fan base (read: 75+ year olds who don't know better), and I don't think any of their other brands would be able to adopt those buyers.

But otherwise, I agree, more or less. BTW, Cadillac does already have a sporty SUV. It's not exclusively a five-seater, as you can also get it with seven, but it's called the SRX, and it's very good.

I mean Caddy should have an X3 rival.

This was an experiment by Toyota to see how their fanbase on this website would react. Drink the cool-aid.

This would be... interesting. I'm sure the "Prius" brand would be successful, assuming hybrids are still the 'in' thing in 2011, but I just don't see the credibility in this claim. I'll wait for a written statement from Toyota, because I just don't see how they could launch an entire brand (including the intensive marketing it would take to create the brand's "hybrid lifestyle") in just three years.

This is BS,Toyota would not do such a stupid thing like this,if Toyota knows how to do any thing very well it's business...

Toyota has barely three brands and speculation on a regrouping of their products and people start throwing around four-letter words like 'GM.' Some of you are just desperate to see Toyota fall.

Toyota will never have as many brands as GM will, plus Toyota is just smarter than GM, to be blunt.

This is interesting in its own right anyway, that the Prius has become so popular that there's even a discussion about Toyota turning it into a whole brand.

The people on this site didn't bring up GM:

"It's usually General Motors that gets picked on for having too many brands under its umbrella, getting dissed for some parts and platform sharing."

Cool!, have a division for their ugly cars. Oh wait they already have Scion, never mind...

Scion is down the past couple months because both the xB and xA are being replaced. Prior to that the xB and tC were unqualified successes. Scion sales are so much higher than anticipated that Toyota is scaling back production to avoid saturating the market. The replacements are getting great reviews. And Scion has the lowest average age in the business.

Dont worry about having to choose the Yaris over the xa, the xA's replacement is the hot xD.