The prius did not sell incredibly well. That is completely false. It sold well enough to be profitable but even a standard Corolla sold more year after year.
… uh, yes. the traditional fossil fuel based card sold better than a car selling to a new market. do you want to compare it to, oh i don’t know, a ford focus too? are you trying to talk about the hybrid version that came out in the 2010’s like 15 years after the prius?
if you want to make the argument that the prius wasn’t instrumental in proving the EV market, good luck. you won’t find much backing with these talking points.