Toyota announces the plural of Prius is Prii

Prii won by receiving only 25 percent of the vote, reflecting the many suggestions and opinions formed over the ongoing 10-year discussion of what multiple models of the Prius should be called.

The campaign coincided with the announcement of the Prius family of vehicles, which will expand the model line over the coming months and years.

Prii won by receiving only 25 percent of the vote, reflecting the many suggestions and opinions formed over the perpetual 10-year discussion of what multiple models of the Prius should be called.

The campaign coincided with the announcement of the Prius family of vehicles, which will expand the model line over the coming months and years.

Over 1.8 million ballots were cast during the six-week survey that asked participants to choose from Prius, Priuses, Prii, Prium and Prien.

Interestingly, Dictionary.com has already updated its listing to reflect this official announcement.

“Community has always been a big part of the Prius brand, so it was only fitting that we invite online communities to participate in the plural discussion,” said Colin Morisako, advertising manager for Toyota. “The people have spoken—Prii will be the accepted term used to describe multiple Prius vehicles going forward.”

The campaign also featured an animated video, print ads and a web series hosted by James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio and author of An Exaltation of Larks.

As the Prius family grows to include the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV), as well as the Prius v and Prius c concepts, Toyota hopes increase acceptance of the brand by offering a wide selection of models maintaining the Prius virtues of fuel economy, very low emissions, proven hybrid technology and environmental stewardship.

Now we can only assume the plural of Lexus must be Lexi, as auto journalists have called them in private for years. We don’t think anyone will question that more than on Scion is simply a group of Scions.

This page is updated on April 18, 2013.