The Toyota Prius C Concept will not reach Europe

Those who had high hopes when they saw the new compact member of the Prius family at the Detroit Motor Show should start letting them go, because Toyota has no intention of bringing it to the European market. Among the several reasons the Japanese brand has for making this decision, one of the most important is that the yen is currently too strong, which would make it unprofitable.

Likewise, since the hybrid version of the Auris is already on sale and the future generation of the Yaris will likewise have its own, consumers on the old continent will be more than well served in terms of small models with this type of powertrain. This is entirely logical, and there is no point in overpopulating a concept and risking making it boring.

However, the fact is that the matter is ironic from two points of view. On the one hand, although the Prius C Concept will not be sold in Europe in its final form, Americans and Japanese will still be able to enjoy our automotive savoir-faire, since the prototype was designed at the ED2 studio in Nice of Toyota. Moreover, the Prius C has a driving setup tailored to European tastes, that is, placing emphasis on agility and feedback, as the head of design Elvio d’Aprile stated.

On the other hand, it seems odd that a compact car would not reach a continent so accustomed to the segment and in which Toyota has not performed badly with its recent products. The fact is that the model, when it comes out, will be capable of offering fuel consumption between 3.3 and 2.9 litres per 100 kilometres. In Japan it will probably have little trouble catching on, but what about in North America? What do you think?

Via | Autocar