By Gary S. Vasilash

Japanese car shoppers are going to buy more hybrids in 2024—more than half of all sales will be the electrified powertrains—than any other type of propulsion system, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Tatsuo Yoshida, Bloomberg Intelligence senior auto analyst, said:

“In Japan, hybrids are popular because they’re affordable and reliable, since they don’t rely on the existence of strong charging infrastructure.”

Arguably, those same characteristics—affordability, reliability, and no dependence on the availability of electric chargers (at home or out in the world)—are important to consumers everywhere.

Although Honda had a hybrid in the U.S. market, the Insight, before Toyota brought the Prius, it was literally just a matter of months—Insight December 1999; Prius June 2000—and Toyota has really become more associated with hybrid technology thanks to its persistence in bringing out hybrids, both as powertrain options to vehicles (e.g., the hybrid RAV4) and as hybrid-only offerings (e.g., the Toyota Venza).

In Japan Toyota has had the Prius available since 1997, so the vehicle, and hybrid tech, are certainly familiar to consumers there.

While the Prius design over the years transitioned from something frumpy to something that looked like the designers were spending too much time watching anime, the 2024 Prius, the fifth generation of the model, is absolutely stunning in looks and certainly not lacking in its efficient performance: the top-of-the-line XLE and Limited models with AWD offer fuel economy of 49 mpg city, 50 mpg highway, and 49 mpg combined. For those who have more frugality, there’s the LE FWD version which is rated at 57/56/57 mpg, which means that given its 11.3-gallon fuel tank (and it takes regular gasoline) it can travel some 640 miles on a tank. That is the definition of “convenience.”

(The 2024 Prius was named the MotorTrend Car of the Year and it is a finalist for the North American Car of the Year, which will be announced January 4.)

Hybrids are garnering more attention in the U.S. market. Not as much as in Japan, but more.

The Ford Maverick Hybrid continues to be a massive hit.

And when Ram brings out its Ramcharger Ram 1500 variant next year, although it will probably emphasize that it is an “electric vehicle,” it is really a hybrid (a series hybrid: there is a battery that powers the electric motor; when the battery gets close to depletion, the gasoline engine operates as a generator to recharge the battery, to keep the propulsion going).

And at an Automotive Press Association Q&A late last month, GM CEO Mary Barra acknowledged that the company has hybrid tech in its portfolio, even though it has no hybrids on offer in the U.S. market.

Arguably, if more Americans knew about the ease of using a hybrid and the efficiency the vehicles provide, they, too, would buy more of them.

Perhaps this will happen when the 2025 Toyota Camry is launched.

The Camry, the perennial best-selling car in the U.S., will be available only with a hybrid powertrain. Clearly, Toyota is that confident in the tech. (Of course, having been putting hybrids under hoods for more than a quarter of a century, it ought to be.)

Affordability, reliability, and no dependence on the availability of electric chargers.

This may cause consumers to pay more attention to hybrids in the U.S., too.