Toyota has sold just over three million hybrids globally since it introduced its first, the Toyota Coaster Hybrid EV bus in 1997, followed that same year by the first-gen Prius. More impressive is the fact that more than a million of those sales have come since August of 2009.
Toyota offers 16 different hybrid models around the world, and it’s about to introduce several new variations of the Prius to our shores. Toyota’s Lexus luxury division has augmented the company’s hybrid movement, offering a gas-electric electric option on the RX, GS and LS models, and two dedicated hybrids, the CT and HS.
By the end of 2012, Toyota says it will add 10 more hybrid models to the global market. According to Toyota, hybrid vehicles had saved the nearly 18 million tons of C02 it would have produced building similarly sized traditional gas-powered cars.
[Source: Toyota]
Global sales reach new milestone.
Worldwide cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles have topped the three million mark, with 3.03 million recorded by the end of February this year.
Since the launch of the Toyota Coaster Hybrid EV coach in August 1997 and the introduction of the first-generation Prius – the world’s first mass-produced hybrid – in December the same year, Toyota has successfully propelled hybrid technology from automotive niche towards the mainstream, an achievement demonstrated by an acceleration in sales that has seen more than a million new hybrids being added to the sales total since August 2009.
In the UK hybrid sales began with Prius in October 2000 and have reached more than 73,000. Today British customers can choose from six Toyota and Lexus hybrids, including the British-built Auris and the new Lexus CT 200h, the first full hybrid in the luxury compact segment. Around the world Toyota currently offers 16 hybrids in around 80 countries, including MPVs, saloons, hatchbacks and SUVs, plus three commercial vehicles in Japan. The rate of growth is expected to quicken further, as Toyota prepares for the introduction of 10 new hybrids in world markets by the end of 2012, including six new vehicles and four redesigned models.
The company is committed to building this line-up further and also expanding the number of world markets in which its hybrids are available. As of the end of February this year, Toyota calculates that its hybrid sales* have led to approximately 18 million fewer tons** of CO2 emissions than would have been produced by petrol-powered vehicles of comparable size and performance. *Excluding Coaster Hybrid EV, Dyna Hybrid, Toyotace Hybrid and Quick Delivery 200 ** Number of registered vehicles x distance travelled x fuel costs (actual fuel efficiency in each country x CO2 conversion factor. ToyotaHybrid Vehicle Sales*(1 Unit = 1,000 vehicles)
YEAR 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
UK – – – 0.185 0.622 0.291 0.370 1.595
Global 0.3 17.7 15.3 19.0 36.9 41.3 53.3 134.7
Cumulative 0.3 18.0 33.2 52.3 89.2 130.5 183.8 318.5
YEAR 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 CUMULATIVE TOTAL
UK 5.282 8.347 13.199 12.853 11.202 16.453 2.694 73.0
Global 234.9 312.5 429.4 429.7 530.0 690.0 93.3 3,038.8
Cumulative 553.5 866.0 1,295.4 1,725.1 2,255.1 2,945.4 3,038.8 –
*Including Lexus, based on TMC/TGB data ToyotaHybrid Milestones
YEAR MONTH MILESTONE
1997 Mar. Toyota Hybrid System (THS) unveiled
Aug. Coaster Hybrid EV launched (Japan only)
Dec. Prius launched
2000 Oct. Prius launched in the UK
Nov. Cumulative Prius sales top 50,000 vehicles
2001 Jun. Estima Hybrid launched (Japan only)
Aug. Crown Mild Hybrid launched (Japan only)
2002 Mar. Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales top 100,000 mark
Aug. Cumulative Prius sales top 100,000 vehicles
2003 Apr. Toyota Hybrid System II (THS II) unveiled
Jul. Alphard Hybrid launched (Japan only)
Sep. Second-generation Prius launched
Nov. Dyna Hybrid and Toyoace Hybrid launched (Japan only)
2005 Mar. Harrier Hybrid (Lexus RX 400h outside Japan) and Kluger Hybrid (Highlander Hybrid) launched
May Lexus RX 400h launched in the UK
Oct. Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales top 500,000 mark
Dec. Prius production commenced at the Changchun Plant, China
2006 Mar. GS 450h launched in Japan
Apr. Cumulative Prius sales top 500,000 vehicles
May Camry Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)
Lexus GS 450h launched in the UK
Jun. Redesigned Estima Hybrid launched (Japan only)
Oct. Camry Hybrid production commenced at the TMMK’s Kentucky Plant, U.S.
Quick Delivery 200 launched (Japan only)
2007 May Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales top 1-million mark.
Lexus LS 600h/LS 600hL launched
Oct. Lexus LS 600h/LS 600hL launched in the UK
2008 Feb. Crown Hybrid unveiled (launched in April; Japan only)
May Cumulative Prius sales top 1 million vehicles
2009 Jan. Lexus RX 450h unveiled
May Third-generation Prius launched
Lexus RX 450h launched in the UK
Jul. Camry Hybrid production commenced at the TMT’s Gateway Plant, Thailand.
Lexus HS 250h launched
Aug. Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales top 2-million mark
Oct. Sai unveiled (launched in December, Japan only)
Dec. Camry Hybrid production commenced at TMCAAltona Plant, Australia
2010 Apr. Camry Hybrid production commenced at the GTMC plant in China
Jun. Auris Hybrid production commenced at the TMUK Burnaston Plant, UK.
Auris Hybrid launched
Sep. Cumulative Prius sales top 2 million vehicles
Nov. Prius production commenced at the TMT Gateway Plant, Thailand
2011 Jan. Annual Prius sales in Japan of new vehicles in 2010 were 315,669 vehicles, the largest amount of annual sales ever recorded.
Lexus CT 200h unveiled
Feb. Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales top 3-million mark
