Below is a typical HU from Japan Prius Gen 3. Does anybody know the reason for that? I can't say for sure, but I highly suspect those are OEM and not aftermarket.
Could be a cultural thing. The Prius (as well as other Toyotas) allow the owners to choose the headunit that fits their budget, ranging from standard 90s/00s radios (with just an old school LCD screen) to LCD touchscreens ranging from 7 to 9" with various features such as nav, telematics, various audio input sources (from basic AM/FM/CD only to MP3 CD, bluetooth, terrestial TV, USB). They are all OEMs even though they look like aftermarket ones. Also, it can be a regional thing (either due to deals they have with regional companies that provide the headunits with the proper digital and analogue receivers for that country or again, regional differences). Europe has their own headunits that are different from North America's.
After a deeper research it turns out the head units in the OP are indeed *aftermarket* ones. Below is one example of the original HU on a Japanese model:
The units seen in the first two pictures, the NHDT-W58 and NSZT-W61G, so marked on the faceplates, were Toyota products, sold in Japan as dealer-installed options. The manual for the NSZT-W61G (PDF in Japanese) is still available on Toyota.jp, marked トヨタ純正 (Toyota Genuine) on the cover. Toyota continues to offer both factory-installed and dealer-installed navigation systems in Japan. For the fourth-generation Prius, there is a sixteen-page Audio Visual & Navigation Catalogue (in Japanese), showing 9-inch (NSZT-Y66T) and 7-inch (NSZT-W66T and NSCD-W66) units installed at dealers and an 11.6-inch unit installed at the factory. Page 13 shows the economy choices: a USB/CD/AM/FM unit (CP-W66) or a blank panel. In case anyone is curious, other current Prius and Prius PHV brochures can be viewed on Toyota.jp, and older ones can be downloaded from their catalog archive.
