Eight million cars. That’s a big number. In context, UMW Toyota has produced just over a million cars since it set up shop here in 1968- so it should give you a sense of the scale involved. In just under 20 years, Toyota has sold such a massive number of their hybrid models worldwide- and they’re one of the few manufacturers capable of producing hybrids on such a large scale.
| Global | Cumulative | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Japan | North America | Others | |||
| 1997 | － | 300 | － | － | 300 | 300 |
| 1998 | － | 17,600 | － | － | 17,600 | 18,000 |
| 1999 | － | 15,200 | － | － | 15,200 | 33,200 |
| 2000 | 700 | 12,500 | 5,800 | － | 19,000 | 52,300 |
| 2001 | 300 | 18,500 | 16,000 | 200 | 36,900 | 89,200 |
| 2002 | 800 | 20,000 | 20,300 | 200 | 41,300 | 130,500 |
| 2003 | 900 | 27,200 | 24,900 | 400 | 53,300 | 183,800 |
| 2004 | 8,100 | 68,700 | 55,900 | 1,900 | 134,700 | 318,500 |
| 2005 | 23,400 | 58,500 | 150,000 | 3,100 | 234,900 | 553,500 |
| 2006 | 36,000 | 72,400 | 197,600 | 6,500 | 312,500 | 866,000 |
| 2007 | 49,000 | 82,000 | 287,800 | 10,700 | 429,400 | 1,295,400 |
| 2008 | 57,800 | 104,400 | 255,000 | 12,600 | 429,700 | 1,725,100 |
| 2009 | 54,700 | 251,100 | 205,300 | 19,000 | 530,100 | 2,255,200 |
| 2010 | 70,200 | 392,200 | 195,900 | 31,900 | 690,200 | 2,945,400 |
| 2011 | 82,800 | 316,400 | 185,100 | 44,700 | 629,000 | 3,574,400 |
| 2012 | 106,900 | 678,000 | 344,700 | 89,500 | 1,219,100 | 4,793,500 |
| 2013 | 152,900 | 679,100 | 358,200 | 89,000 | 1,279,200 | 6,072,700 |
| 2014 | 171,800 | 684,200 | 323,600 | 86,500 | 1,266,000 | 7,338,700 |
| Jan-Jul 2015 | 111,800 | 389,300 | 163,200 | 45,300 | 709,600 | 8,048,400 |
| Total | 930,100 | 3,887,800 | 2,789,100 | 441,400 | ||
*Global figures contain sales from markets other than Europe, Japan, North America and Others | ||||||
But it also helps to remember that it’s not just the Prius that’s responsible for this staggering sales figure. Toyota has also produced a number of other hybrid models over the years- not merely under the Toyota brand, but for Lexus as well. The ‘h’ models in the Lexus range are a little odd when compared to their German rivals, but they maintain that Japanese reliability that people see in a Lexus.
Cumulative Sales of Toyota Hybrid Passenger Vehicles*1 (as of July 2015)
| Global | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Japan | North America | Others | ||
| Prius | 279,400 | 1,553,400 | 1,595,700 | 98,700 | 3,527,100 |
| Prius α / Prius v / Prius + | 32,800 | 401,600 | 142,700 | 5,300 | 582,400 |
| Aqua / Prius c | － | 901,500 | 150,800 | 29,000 | 1,081,200 |
| Camry | － | 49,400 | 356,900 | 122,100 | 528,300 |
| Alphard*2 | － | 56,400 | － | 1,900 | 58,300 |
| Auris | 231,100 | － | － | 9,000 | 240,100 |
| Yaris | 172,200 | － | － | 4,000 | 176,200 |
| Avalon | － | － | 41,100 | 100 | 41,200 |
| Highlander / Kluger*3 | － | 3,400 | 141,100 | 1,800 | 146,300 |
| Vellfire | － | 28,400 | － | － | 28,400 |
| Sai | － | 92,800 | － | － | 92,800 |
| Estima | － | 114,000 | － | 33 | 114,000 |
| Harrier | － | 55,900 | － | － | 55,900 |
| Crown Hybrid | － | 123,700 | － | － | 123,700 |
| Crown Mild Hybrid*4 | － | 6,500 | － | － | 6,500 |
| Crown Majesta (hybrid only) | － | 10,500 | － | － | 10,500 |
| Corolla Axio | － | 36,300 | － | － | 36,300 |
| Corolla Fielder | － | 90,400 | － | － | 90,400 |
| Voxy | － | 57,200 | － | － | 57,200 |
| Noah | － | 43,600 | － | － | 43,600 |
| Esquire | － | 31,500 | － | － | 31,500 |
| Sienta | － | 3,100 | － | － | 3,100 |
| Lexus LS 600h / LS 600hL | 4,700 | 27,100 | 3,000 | 5,100 | 39,800 |
| Lexus GS 450h / GS 300h | 15,500 | 19,600 | 7,100 | 7,300 | 49,500 |
| Lexus RX 400h / RX 450h | 93,600 | 31,400 | 159,200 | 33,400 | 317,600 |
| Lexus HS 250h | － | 43,600 | 22,300 | 100 | 66,000 |
| Lexus CT 200h | 57,000 | 49,800 | 78,800 | 56,200 | 241,900 |
| Lexus ES 300h | 500 | － | 46,300 | 50,900 | 97,700 |
| Lexus IS 300h | 19,300 | 18,400 | － | 6,800 | 44,500 |
| Lexus NX 300h | 14,400 | 9,900 | 2,000 | 9,700 | 36,000 |
| Lexus RC 300h | － | 2,400 | － | － | 2,400 |
| Prius PHV | 9,900 | 21,700 | 42,000 | 100 | 73,600 |
If you’re up to learn some more comprehensive information about Toyota’s Hybrid offerings, you can check the timeline below- it lists the launch of each major model over the years, as well as the cumulative sales points. In 2011, Toyota hit the 3 million cumulative sales mark, and in just 4 short years they have more than doubled it. What an impressive effort.
Toyota Hybrid Vehicle Chronology
| Year | Month | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Oct. | Prius concept displayed by Toyota at Tokyo Motor Show |
| Nov. | First Prius prototype built | |
| 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 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; 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 the U.S., 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 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 | |
| Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales from January through October 2012 top 1 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 | |
| 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 Indiana Plant in the U.S. | |
| Mar. | Lexus RX 450h production commenced at TMMC’s Cambridge Plant in the U.S. | |
| Cumulative hybrid vehicle sales in Japan top 3 million mark | ||
| Apr. | Plan to start sales of Corolla and Levin 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 October) | ||
| Sep. | Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 7 million mark | |
| Oct. | Lexus RC300h launched | |
| Esquire hybrid launched (Japan only) | ||
| 2015 | Jan. | Completely redesigned Alphard hybrid and Vellfire hybrid launched |
| Apr. | RAV4 Hybrid announced at New York International Auto Show | |
| Jul. | Sienta hybrid launched | |
| Cumulative global hybrid vehicle sales top 8 million mark |
