Toyota Motor Corporation is proud to announce that the cumulative figures for global sales of its hybrid vehicles reached 9.014 million units as of April 30. This latest million-unit milestone was achieved in just nine months.
In 2015, Toyota added a hybrid model of the popular minivan, the Sienta and began selling the latest hybrid icon: the fourth-generation Prius. Overseas, Toyota introduced the Corolla and Levin hybrid models in China―with locally-produced hybrid systems―and added a hybrid model of the RAV4 to its ever-increasing hybrid line-up. As of the end of April 2016, Toyota is selling 33 hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid (PHV) model in more than 90 countries and regions.
Toyota calculates that as of April 30, the use of Toyota hybrid vehicles in lieu of conventional vehicles of similar size and driving performance has resulted in approximately 67 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions―believed to be a cause of global warming. Toyota also estimates that its hybrid vehicles have saved approximately 25 million kilolitres of gasoline compared to the amount used by gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class.
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.
Toyota has positioned hybrid technologies, which encompass all of the component technologies necessary for the development of environment-friendly cars and which facilitate the use of different fuel combinations, as core environmental technologies for the twenty-first century. Toyota is committed to continuing its work to enhance performance, reduce costs, and expand its product line-up to create vehicles that are ever-more popular with consumers.