2016 Toyota Prius Price

It’s a surprising move for Toyota since it will be the first ever that the Japanese carmaker will be launching a vehicle in the Sin City. But many motoring experts believe that the decision of Toyota to unravel a 2016 Prius this month has something to do with the plans of Tesla Motors to launch its Model X late this month as well.

It has been previously reported that Toyota will be launching the 2016 Prius before the end of the year. While September 8 is technically before the end of the year, nobody was expecting that the launching could happen soon enough.

However, the launching event in Las Vegas on September 8 is a media only affair so it is possible that Toyota may be planning be a bigger roll-out event before the end of the year, notes Digital Trends.

Next era of an icon

Toyota refers to its 2016 Toyota Prius as the next era of an icon. In a statement announcing the media launch of its next hybrid on September 8, Toyota said that it is pulling all stops for the exclusive event to celebrate the future of Prius in a truly spectacular way that will be anything but expected.

The teaser photo unveiled by Toyota showed a black background with a bright-red squiggle that is likely the car’s taillight profile, details the Green Car Reports.

Photos of two different 2016 Prius were leaked late last month – one featuring silver, and the other one is dark gray – by a Malaysian Prius owner on Facebook and it went viral all over the world.

Given that the exterior design of the 2016 Toyota Prius was already made in public, it would be interesting to see how much information will Toyota release during the media event on September 8 in Las Vegas as reports have it that the Japanese carmaker will not be providing test driving opportunity at the event.

Compare Toyota Prius with Jeep Wrangler.

More shimmering profile

While the 2016 Toyota Prius will be launched on September 8, the hybrid will be released to the retail markets a few weeks or months after. It is expected that the hybrid vehicle shall have a more lustrous and shimmering profile than its predecessor.

The 2016 Toyota Prius is also one of the first Toyota vehicles to make use of the Toyota New Global Architecture for a lower center of gravity and improved handling. The base model of the Prius will have the staple nickel-metal-hydride battery pack while the premium model might house a lithium-ion battery. The vehicle will also come with an all-wheel drive option.

It is evident that a new Prius is forthcoming because the current range of the Toyota Prius hybrid cars has received significant discounts to keep its sales up even as the lineup ages and gas prices remain low.

Accordingly the Toyota Prius V in San Francisco is getting a regional discount of as much as $4,000, which is far higher than the $2,750 price cut offered by the Japanese carmaker on the vehicle in July.

The overall discount includes a $2,500 rebate and a $1,500 bonus offer for buyers in San Francisco and its environs.

The rebates in most other regions remain largely unchanged, particularly the $1,500 discount in Los Angeles, where there is a huge demand for the hybrid vehicle.

The hybrid vehicle segment has been on the decline as of late because of falling fuel prices and the rising efficiency of conventional gasoline cars, not to mention the advent of fully-electric vehicles.