Worldwide Sales of Toyota Hybrids Surpass 10 Million Units

In the footsteps of the iconic Prius that started it all, Toyota now sells 34 different hybrid models in more than 90 countries and regions across the globe

(TORONTO, ON – February 14, 2017) Toyota is proud to announce cumulative global hybrid vehicle (HV) sales of more than 10 million units as of January 31. Last year, Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) set a Canadian benchmark, selling 19,787 hybrids – an all-time annual record that was up 45.2% versus 2015. TCI has been the leader in the Canadian hybrid vehicle market, accounting for more than three quarters of all hybrids sold since 2000. To date, Toyota has sold more than 130,000 hybrid vehicles in Canada.

This latest milestone of 10 million units was achieved just nine months after total sales reached 9 million units at the end of April 20161. More than a numerical milestone, this demonstrates the staying power of a technology that is now emerging as a mainstream solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

“When we launched Prius, no one even knew what a hybrid was. Those who drove it were called geeks or other names. Today, thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius a chance, hybrids have grown in popularity, and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream,” said Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota and known as the father of the Prius. “We are grateful to each and every one of our customers who has helped us achieve this important milestone of 10 million hybrid sales. We are committed to continue working hand-in-hand with them to tackle global environmental issues.”

Helping to mitigate the environmental effects of automobiles has long been a priority for Toyota. Based on the stance that environmentally friendly vehicles can only truly have a significant positive impact if they are widely used, Toyota has encouraged the mass-market adoption of hybrid vehicles across the globe. Toyota launched the Coaster Hybrid EV in August 1997 and the Prius—the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger vehicle—in December of the same year. Since then, Toyota hybrid vehicles have received tremendous support from consumers around the world.

As reductions in greenhouse gas emissions increasingly became a problem of global magnitude, the first generation Prius represented Toyota’s response to the resource and environment-related issues of the twenty-first century. The Prius development team was convinced that, whatever the results of their efforts, the development of a hybrid vehicle was essential for the future, and that they had to do what was necessary rather than what was simply possible. With this in mind, the team unveiled the world’s first mass-production hybrid passenger vehicle to the world. The Prius proved so popular with customers that it became a byword for an “environmentally friendly vehicle.” The Toyota Hybrid System (THS), which was incorporated in the first generation Prius, evolved into THS II in 2003, and was thereafter rolled out in a wide range of Toyota vehicles. The fourth-generation Prius, which became the first vehicle to be built on Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA2), was developed not only with environmental performance in mind, but also with outstanding driving performance for customers wanting to purchase a car that was fun to drive.

Toyota launched its first hybrid vehicle 20 years ago, and the circumstances surrounding environmentally friendly vehicles have since changed dramatically. The growing popularity of the Prius led to the creation of a new customer standard of choosing cars based on their environmental performance. As the number of companies developing and launching hybrid vehicles increased, so a new segment of “hybrid vehicles” was established. In addition, now that customers around the world are opting to purchase hybrid vehicles and other fuel-efficient vehicles, the entire automobile industry has been able to contribute to the solution of global environmental problems. Having passed the 10 million vehicle milestone, Toyota will continue to create ever-better cars for its customers.

As of January 31, Toyota estimates that the use of Toyota’s HVs3 in lieu of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance has resulted in approximately 77 million fewer tons4 of CO2 emissions and has saved approximately 29 million kiloliters of gasoline.

Toyota announced the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 in October 2015, setting challenges that it will undertake to help reduce the negative impacts of automobiles on the global environment to as close to zero as possible, and to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society. Toyota has positioned hybrid technologies as core environmental technologies for the twenty-first century. Hybrid encompasses all of the component technologies necessary for the development of environmentally friendly vehicles, from battery electric to fuel cell hydrogen vehicles, which facilitate the use of different fuel combinations, Toyota is committed to further expanding its lineup of environmentally friendly vehicles

1Including plug-in hybrid vehicles, Toyota data

2Toyota's company-wide global program to structurally transform automobile design. The goal of TNGA is to dramatically improve the basic performance and marketability of Toyota vehicles by reforming and considering the overall optimization of developing new powertrain components and vehicle platforms.

3Excluding the Coaster Hybrid EV and Quick Delivery 200

4Toyota calculation based on the number of registered vehicles × distance traveled × fuel efficiency (actual fuel efficiency in each country) × CO2 conversion factor

 

About Toyota Canada Inc.
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles.  Toyota has sold over 5 million vehicles in Canada through a national network of 287 Toyota and Lexus dealerships.  Toyota is dedicated to bringing safety, quality, dependability and reliability in the vehicles Canadians drive and the service they receive.  TCI’s head office is located in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax and parts distribution centres in Toronto and Vancouver.  Toyota operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada. Having produced more than seven million vehicles, popular Canadian models built at these facilities include Toyota RAV4, Toyota Corolla, Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid.

 

 

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Toyota Hybrid Vehicle Sales

Based on TMC data (Unit = 1,000 vehicles)

 

Global

 

Cumulative

 

Japan

North America

Europe

Other

1997

0.3

0.3

－

－

－

0.3

1998

17.6

17.6

－

－

－

18.0

1999

15.2

15.2

－

－

－

33.2

2000

19.0

12.5

5.8

0.7

－

52.3

2001

36.9

18.5

16.0

2.3

0.2

89.2

2002

41.3

20.0

20.3

0.8

0.2

130.5

2003

53.3

27.2

24.9

0.9

0.4

183.8

2004

134.7

68.7

55.9

8.1

1.9

318.5

2005

234.9

58.5

150.0

23.4

3.1

553.5

2006

312.5

72.4

197.6

36.0

6.5

866.0

2007

429.4

82.0

287.8

49.0

10.7

1295.4

2008

429.7

104.4

255.0

57.8

12.6

1725.1

2009

530.1

251.1

205.3

54.7

19.0

2255.2

2010

690.2

392.2

195.9

70.2

31.9

2945.4

2011

629.0

316.4

185.1

82.8

44.7

3574.4

2012

1219.1

678.0

344.7

106.9

89.5

4793.5

2013

1279.2

679.1

358.2

152.9

89.0

6072.7

2014

1266.0

684.2

323.6

171.8

86.5

7338.7

2015

1204.0

633.2

282.9

201.5

86.4

8542.8

2016

1400.6

677.7

266.2

285.9

170.8

9943.4

2017

Jan

105.0

43.2

15.3

30.3

16.2

10048.5

Total

 

4852.7

3190.4

1336.0

669.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative Sales of Toyota Hybrid Passenger Vehicles 

Based on TMC data (Unit = 1,000 vehicles)

Vehicle name

 

Global

 

Japan

North America

Europe

Other

Prius

3984.6

1812.8

1751.2

299.1

121.4

Prius α, Prius v, Prius +

671.2

446.4

173.1

43.8

7.9

Aqua, Prius c

1380.1

1154.5

192.7

-

32.9

Camry Hybrid

614.7

57.0

396.9

-

160.8

Alphard Hybrid1

74.9　

72.2

-

-

2.6

Auris Hybrid

378.0

6.7

-

354.6

16.7

Vitz Hybrid, Yaris Hybrid

302.7

1.8

-

294.6

6.2

Avalon Hybrid

55.2　

-　

55.1　

-　

0.1　

Highlander Hybrid, Kluger Hybrid2

156.3　

3.4

151.0

-

1.8

RAV4 Hybrid

109.7

-

56.0

49.0

4.7

C-HR Hybrid

23.6

8.7

-

14.8

(20 units) units)

Corolla Hybrid

47.6

-　

-

-

47.6

Levin Hybrid

30.0

-

-

-

30.0

Vellfire Hybrid

39.4

39.4

-

-

-

SAI

100.4

100.4

-

-

-

Estima Hybrid, Previa Hybrid

120.0

120.0

-

-

(33 units)

Harrier Hybrid

69.0

69.0

-

-

-

Crown Hybrid

172.2　

172.2

-

-

-

Crown Mild Hybrid3

6.5

6.5

-

-

-

Corolla Axio Hybrid

57.1

57.1

-

-

-

Corolla Fielder Hybrid

135.4

135.4

-

-

-

Voxy Hybrid

94.6

94.6

-

-

-

Noah Hybrid

72.0

72.0

-

-

-

Esquire Hybrid

67.6

67.6

-

-

-

Sienta Hybrid

80.0

79.7

-

-

0.2

Lexus LS 600h/LS 600hL

42.2　

29.0

3.1

4.8

5.4

Lexus GS 450h/GS 300h

58.8

25.3

7.2

17.8

8.4

Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h

363.0

44.4

173.1

104.2

41.4

Lexus HS 250h

68.1

45.8

22.3

-

0.1

Lexus CT 200h

290.8

55.8

95.1

70.2

69.7

Lexus ES 300h

143.2

-

60.2

0.5

82.5

Lexus IS 300h

59.3

23.2

-

28.2

7.9

Lexus NX 300h

90.4

20.7

6.7

42.0

21.0

Lexus RC 300h

5.7

4.0

-

1.7

(11 units)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prius PHV

79.3　

22.1

46.5

10.6

0.1

 

Passenger vehicle

cumulative total

Japan

Overseas

Total

 

Reference:

Commercial vehicle4 cumulative total

Japan

Overseas

Total

4847.7

5195.8

10043.5

 

4.9

－

4.9

 

1Production ceased in 2008 and production of a new model started in 2011;

2Kluger Hybrid (for the Japanese market) production ceased in 2007;

3Crown Royal production ceased in 2003, Crown Sedan production ceased in 2008;

4Coaster Hybrid EV (production ceased in 2004), Quick Delivery 200 (hybrid-version production ceased in 2012), Dyna Hybrid, and Toyoace Hybrid.

 
                   
 

 

Toyota Hybrid Vehicle Chronology

Year

Month

Milestone

1997

Mar.

Toyota Hybrid System (THS) unveiled

Aug.

Coaster Hybrid EV launched (Japan only)

Oct.

Prius unveiled (launched in December)

2000

Nov.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 50,000 vehicles

2001

Jun.

Estima Hybrid launched (Japan only)

Aug.

Crown Royal series with Mild Hybrid System launched (Japan only)

2002

Mar.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 100,000 mark

Aug.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 100,000 vehicles

Oct.

Crown Sedan with Mild Hybrid System launched (Japan only)

2003

Apr.

Toyota Hybrid System II (THS II) unveiled

Jul.

Alphard Hybrid launched (Japan only)

Sep.

Completely redesigned second-generation Prius launched

Dyna Hybrid and Toyoace Hybrid unveiled (launched in November; Japan only)

2005

Mar.

Harrier Hybrid (Lexus RX 400h) and Kluger Hybrid (Highlander Hybrid) launched

Oct.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 500,000 mark

Dec.

Second-generation Prius production commenced at SFTM’s Changchun plant in China

2006

Mar.

Lexus GS 450h launched

Apr.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 500,000 vehicles

May

Camry Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

Jun.

Completely redesigned Estima Hybrid launched (Japan only)

Oct.

Camry Hybrid production commenced at TMMK’s Kentucky Plant in the U.S.; Quick Delivery 200 launched (Japan only)

2007

May

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 1 million mark; Lexus LS 600h/LS 600hL launched

2008

Feb.

Crown Hybrid unveiled (launched in May; Japan only)

Apr.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 1 million vehicles

2009

Jan.

Lexus RX 450h unveiled (launched in April)

May

Completely redesigned third-generation Prius launched

Jul.

Camry Hybrid production commenced at TMT’s Gateway Plant, Thailand; Lexus HS 250h launched

Aug.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 2 million mark

Oct.

Sai unveiled (launched in December, Japan only)

Dec.

Camry Hybrid production commenced at TMCA’s Altona Plant, Australia

2010

Apr.

Camry Hybrid production commenced at GTMC’s plant in China

Jun.

Auris Hybrid production commenced at TMUK’s Burnaston Plant, UK; Auris Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

Jul.

Cumulative sales in Japan of hybrids top 1 million vehicles

Sep.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 2 million vehicles

Nov.

Third-generation Prius production commenced at TMT’s 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 launched

Feb.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 3 million mark

May

Prius α launched

Aug.

Prius sales in Japan top 1 million mark

Sep.

Completely redesigned Camry Hybrid launched in Japan; Alphard Hybrid and Vellfire Hybrid unveiled (launched in November, Japan only)

Oct.

TMEC of China conducts cornerstone laying ceremony and announces plan to produce and sell vehicles with hybrid systems produced in China jointly with China FAW Group and GTMC around 2015

Nov.

Prius PHV unveiled (launched in January 2012 in Japan, in March 2012 in North America, in the summer of 2012 in Europe)

Dec.

Production of third-generation Prius commenced at SFTM’s Changchun Plant in China; Aqua launched

2012

Jan.

Completely redesigned Lexus GS 450h unveiled (launched in March)

Feb.

Start of Highlander Hybrid production at TMMI’s Indiana Plant in the U.S. in the second half of 2013 announced

Production and sale of Camry Hybrid in Kuozui Motor’s Kuanying Plant, Taiwan commenced

Apr.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 4 million mark

May

Yaris Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

Jul.

Start of Lexus RX 450h production at TMMC’s Cambridge Plant in early 2014 announced; Lexus ES 300h launched (for sale outside Japan)

Oct.

Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales in Japan top 2 million mark

 

Nov.

Completely redesigned Auris Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

Dec.

Completely redesigned Crown hybrid unveiled (launched in January 2013, Japan only); Avalon hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

2013

Mar.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 5 million mark

May

Lexus IS 300h launched

Jun.

Cumulative global Prius sales top 3 million units; Auris Touring Sports Hybrid launched (for sale outside Japan)

Aug.

Corolla Axio Hybrid and Corolla Fielder Hybrid launched (Japan only)

Sep.

Crown Majesta (only hybrid version available) launched (Japan only)

Oct.

Lexus GS 300h launched

Nov.

Completely redesigned Harrier Hybrid unveiled (launched in January 2014)

Dec.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 6 million mark

2014

Jan.

Voxy Hybrid and Noah Hybrid launched (Japan only)

Feb.

Highlander Hybrid production commenced at TMMI’s Indiana Plant in the U.S.

Mar.

Lexus RX 450h production commenced at TMMC’s Cambridge Plant in Canada

Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales in Japan top 3 million mark

Apr.

Plan to start sales of Corolla and Levin hybrid models equipped with China-produced major hybrid components in 2015 announced at Beijing Motor Show

Jul.

Toyota Motor (Changshu) Auto Parts Co., Ltd. In China holds opening ceremony; production of hybrid transaxles to start in 2015

Lexus NX 300h launched in Japan (sales outside Japan began in August)

Sep.

Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 7 million mark

Oct.

Lexus RC 300h launched in Japan (sales outside Japan began in November); Esquire hybrid launched (Japan only)

2015

Jan.

Completely redesigned Alphard hybrid and Vellfire hybrid launched

Apr.

RAV4 Hybrid unveiled at New York International Auto Show

Jul.

Sienta hybrid launched; AWD specifications added to Lexus IS 300h; Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 8 million mark

Oct.

Hybrid vehicles sales target of 1.5 million units annually and 15 million units cumulatively by 2020 announced in Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050; Corolla Hybrid and Levin Hybrid launched (China); Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales in Japan top 4 million mark

Nov.

RAV4 Hybrid launched

Dec.

Completely redesigned fourth-generation Prius launched

2016

Feb.

Lexus LC 500h unveiled at the Hague in the Netherlands

Mar.

Toyota C-HR unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show; Prius PHV unveiled at the New York International Auto Show

Apr.

Introduction of Corolla PHV and Levin PHV in China announced (2018); Auris hybrid launched (Japan); Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 9 million mark

Dec.

C-HR hybrid launched

2017

Jan.

Launch of the new Camry hybrid announced at the Detroit Motor Show; Vitz hybrid launched (Japan); Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 10 million mark

 

 

 

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