How Much Did the First Toyota Prius Cost in 2000?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Toyota Prius original price in the United States was $19,995, the suggested retail price Toyota announced on July 21, 2000. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $38,988 in September 2026 money, roughly 1.9 times the original price.
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Toyota Prius at a glance
- US launch price
- $19,995
- In today’s money
- ≈ $38,988July 2000 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- July 21, 2000
- Where it was designed
- Toyota City, JapanDeveloped by Toyota in Toyota City, Japan.
- Category
- Cars & transport
- Price source
- en.wikipedia.org
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
How the first Prius reached American drivers
Toyota Motor Sales said dealers began taking orders on June 30, 2000, and the Prius website opened to the public on July 14. Cars reached showrooms from mid-July, with the first deliveries in August. More than 900 dealers also offered one-day rentals so that people could try the unfamiliar technology.
The Prius had already been on sale in Japan since 1997, which is why it is often described as the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car.
The Toyota Prius original price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2000. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the Toyota Prius original price of $19,995 works out at about $38,988 in September 2026 money, around 1.9 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a Prius sells for second-hand.
What came with the $19,995 car
- A four-door, five-passenger sedan
- Standard anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, power windows and an AM/FM cassette stereo
- A warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles on the battery and hybrid system
- Seven-day, 24-hour roadside assistance
A cleaner car
Toyota’s release said the Prius was certified as California SULEV, a super-ultra-low-emission rating, and claimed that this made it 90 percent cleaner than any car on the road at the time. That is Toyota’s own claim, but it explains why the car attracted attention well beyond its size.
Where was the Prius designed?
Toyota developed it in Japan. The company said little in its American launch material about fuel economy figures, focusing instead on the technology and the warranty.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the first Prius cost in the United States?
The Toyota Prius had a suggested retail price of $19,995 when Toyota announced its US launch on July 21, 2000.
How much is $19,995 from 2000 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Prius’s original price is about $38,988 in September 2026 money.
When did the Prius go on sale in the United States?
Dealers took orders from June 30, 2000, cars reached showrooms from mid-July and first deliveries began in August.
Was the Prius sold in Japan first?
Yes. It went on sale in Japan in 1997, three years before its US launch.
Want to compare the Toyota Prius original price with similar launches? See what the iRobot Roomba, the iPod, the Amazon Kindle and the iMac cost, read our price history guides, browse more famous launch prices, or play the Prius question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Press release: Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Prius launch (July 21, 2000), via The Auto Channel
- Wikipedia: Toyota Prius (XW10)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)