2002 Toyota Prius ESi

The Toyota Prius ( /'pri??s/; Toyota's declared plural: Prii,[1] /'pri?a?/) is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) rate the Prius as among the cleanest vehicles sold in the United States based on smog-forming emissions.[2], , The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2000.[3] The Prius is sold in more than 70 countries and regions, with its largest markets being those of Japan and the United States.[4] In May 2008, global cumulative Prius sales reached the milestone 1 million vehicle mark,[5] the 2 million milestone was reached in September 2010,[4] and a total of 2.5 million Prii have been sold worldwide as of February 2012.[6] Cumulative sales of 1 million Prii were achieved in the U.S. by early April 2011,[7] and Japan reached the 1 million mark in August 2011.[8] Since its launch in 2009, the third-generation Prius sold more than 1 million units worldwide by September 2011.[9], , In 2011, Toyota expanded the Prius family to include the Prius v, an extended hatchback wagon, and the Prius c, a subcompact hatchback. The production version of the Prius plug-in hybrid was released in 2012. The Prius family reached global cumulative sales of 2.87 million units through April 2012, representing 71.8% of Toyota Motor Company hybrid sales of 4 million Lexus and Toyota units sold worldwide since 1997.[3], , Safety, Crash testing resultsU.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash testing of the 2004 US model year Prius yielded a five-star driver and four-star passenger rating in the frontal-collision test (out of five stars). Side crash results were four out of five stars for both front and rear seats. The car scored four out of five stars in rollover testing.[40], , Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests score the Prius Good overall in frontal collisions and Good overall in side-impact collisions in models equipped with side airbags.[41] A Poor score is given to models without side airbags.[42] Side curtain and torso airbags became standard on 2007 American models., , In 2004, EuroNCAP tested the Prius. It earned the following ratings: Adult Occupant: 5 star; Child Occupant: 4 star; Pedestrian: .2 star.