Since the first generation Prius hit the road in 1997, Toyota has now sold more than 15 million Hybrid cars across the globe.
The Prius made its Australian debut in 2001.
Toyota Australia’s hybrid sales have risen to a cumulative total of more than 134,200 vehicles – moving from the 100,000 mark in 11 months.
Sales have tripled over the past two calendar years from fewer than 8,500 cars in 2017 to more than 27,800 last year.
In the first three months of this year, Toyota Australia’s hybrid deliveries reached 11,756 cars or 23.5% of the brand’s local sales, both of which are records.
The RAV4 is Toyota’s top-selling Australian hybrid so far this year, displacing Corolla which led hybrid sales in 2019. Camry remains the best-selling hybrid in this country with a cumulative total of 63,700 sales.
The growth in hybrid sales is set to be strengthened this year with the introduction of the all-new Yaris hatch and – as announced last week – the Yaris Cross SUV. Both will be available with Toyota’s latest, fourth-generation hybrid system.
Australian customers can also choose from hybrid versions of the C-HR SUV as well as the Prius, Prius c and Prius v.
Toyota decided to make hybrid vehicles 25 years ago, with a team headed by engineer, Takeshi Uchiyamada – now the global company’s chairman.
Uchiyamada led a team tasked with developing a car for the 21st century, one which would produce substantially fewer greenhouse emissions and other harmful pollutants.
The 1997 Prius was launched around the same time as the global environmental movement gained new impetus with the signing of the Kyoto Protocol.
Toyota says it’s hybrid technology has made a significant contribution to reducing global carbon emissions.
The company calculates it has saved more than 120 million tonnes of CO2, compared with equivalent petrol vehicles*.
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