The Toyota Prius launched in Japan in 1997 as the first mass-produced hybrid car. Toyota developed it as a practical “car for the 21st century,” combining a gasoline engine with an electric motor and battery system.
The first-generation Prius, known by its NHW10 model code, went on sale in Japan on December 10, 1997. It was initially offered through all four Toyota dealership networks in Japan and was built at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Aichi. Its hybrid system could use the gasoline engine, electric motor, or both, helping reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The Prius was not Toyota’s first hybrid experiment: the company had shown a hybrid concept at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show. However, the 1997 production car was the breakthrough that made hybrid power available in an ordinary family car rather than only in a prototype.
A common mix-up is confusing the Prius with the Honda Insight. The Insight arrived later, in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in other markets. The Prius reached global markets from 2000 and has since become one of the best-known hybrid nameplates.