Toyota Says Prius Is Less Polluting Than a Sheep

We don’t know about you, but here at autoevolution we always wanted to know if a sheep’s backend is more harmful to the environment than a Toyota Prius. The age-old question was finally answered by Toyota’s Israeli arm in a recent ad.

According to them, the flatulence of a Prius is a lot less harmful to the environment than that of a sheep, though the sheep is cuter. As you can see from the advert released by Toyota Israel, the methane gas produced by livestock can indeed be worse for the environment than the emissions coming from the backside of an automobile. This probably applies to other cars as well, not just ones with the green credentials of the Prius.

We like the creative ad, but it doesn’t take into account the pollution caused by manufacturing the car, as well as factoring in the environmental impact of the mineral mining and smelting, given that all of these are required to create all those big batteries for the hybrid. But the Prius is still better while in use than a lot of cars, and... sheep apparently.

The Japanese auto giant announced recently that it believes the Prius will become its top-selling model in the United States by the end of the decade. The sales forecasts take into account the expansion of the Prius line from the current hybrid sedan to incorporate new bodystyles, including the MPV version that will be unveiled shortly at the Detroit Auto Show. The world’s best-selling green car faces strong competition this year from Nissan's rechargeable Leaf EV and General Motors’ Volt plug-in sedan.