For anyone from ruling parties to market leaders, the benefit of incumbency is a powerful enabler. It allows those in command to look forward, whereas in its wake, the pack keeps chasing.
In the realm of automotive hybridisation, for Toyota, this defining market standing was institutionalised with the introduction of the Prius in 1997. In consumer minds, this cemented the brand as a pioneer in its field... until its competitors inevitably caught up.
Amid the fallout from the 2008 cash crunch that notably affected the American automakers and their European counterparts, which embarked on chasing forced induction until 2015's diesel scandal broke, an unruffled Toyota persisted with hybrids.
Today, the Japanese giant owns this landscape in South Africa. The lion's share of its passenger applications boasts a hybrid offering and the same can be said of its more urbane sister brand, Lexus.
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