It’s a question that has vexed the industry for a decade, or at least it has if you sell or own a Toyota Prius and live in the United States.
What should you call your fleet of hybrids – or what is the plural of Prius?
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In the US this has been put to the public vote and the result, announced at the Chicago Motor Show, is Prii.
The Prius Goes Plural voting campaign was launched by distributor Toyota Motor Sales USA on 10 January 10 at the Detroit show and challenged the public to help the automaker determine the plural of Prius.
With 25% of the votes, Prii has not only been endorsed by the public who chose it, but also as the term recognised by Toyota. As such, Dictionary.com has updated its entry for the word ‘Prius’ to reflect this.
The six week campaign attracted over 1.8m votes during the six week campaign. Prii was chosen ahead of Prius, Priuses, Prium and Prien. Prius was a close second with 24%.
With the expansion of the Prius family to include the plug in version and two multi-purpose variants, Toyota hopes to further increase acceptance of the hybrid brand.
