Up until today, the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid had only been available as a four-seat subcompact in Europe, with a fixed armrest with cup holders separating the rear sofa in two. Starting now, customers may instead opt for a five-seat version, which comes with regular foldable armrests.
Other new options for the European market include Black Metallic paint and 17-inch alloy wheels.
As you may already know, the Japanese and U.S. versions of the Prius became available in the five-seat configuration long ago, and no one made any fuss about that. In Europe, one could say Toyota blew the reveal quite out of proportion. That said, the reason is prosaic: the expensive PHEV sells poorly in the Old World countries. Only 12,253 copies were sold in 2018, which was 1,377 fewer than in 2017. Sales volumes are about seven times as large in the United States.