UPDATED: Toyota slashes list prices for Prius Plug-in cutting BIK bills

NEW: Toyota cuts Prius Plug-in prices by £3,200
Plug-in now carries much reduced price premium
Standard Prius hybrid should be cheaper to lease

Written by Christofer Lloyd Published: 15 February 2017 Updated: 15 February 2017

Since going to press, Toyota UK has announced a U-turn on Prius Plug-in list prices, slashing the purchase cost by £3,200 for both Business Edition Plus and Excel models. This reduces the premium for Plug-in models over the standard hybrid, making the greener new model cheaper for both company car and private drivers and reducing fleet drivers’ BIK charges.

Following the price cut, the Plug-in model is now slightly cheaper than the conventional hybrid in BIK terms. Choose the Plug-in Excel version and you can save £156/£300 (for 20%/40% tax payers respectively) over a three-year lease starting in April 2017.

The £2,395 to £3,140 list price premium means that the Plug-in model is likely to be more expensive to lease, however.

No one wants to pay more in tax than they have to, but going for the greener Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid over the standard hybrid model could cost you more in BIK. Choose the standard hybrid model and higher rate tax payers could save themselves £300 over three years, with £156 in savings for 20% tax payers (for an Excel model on 15-inch alloy wheels).

Despite the new Plug-in model emitting just 22g/km of CO2 and slotting into the lowest BIK band – currently at 7% – the 70g/km standard Prius (with 15-inch alloy wheels), still falls into the second lowest band. This means a 2016/17 tax rate of 11%.

Though you can cut your personal fuel bills by charging at home and making use of the plug-in’s 30-mile electric range, you’d be worse off in BIK tax even before taking into account the greater leasing costs expected – thanks to the £8,295 higher starting price and £6,000 premium for a like-for-like model.

Monthly BIK bills will set you back £43/£86 (for 20% and 40% tax payers respectively) for the Prius Plug-in compared with £51/£102 for the standard Prius under the current bands. Start a new three-year lease in April, however, and the costs are reversed, with the Plug-in version becoming more expensive, with an increased premium in 2019/2020 as both cars move up several BIK bands.