Toyota began building hybrids in the late ’90s and the brand quickly became synonymous with the technology, largely due to the global popularity of the Prius. Now the automaker is celebrating a major milestone as sales have topped one million units in its home market. Toyota’s hybrid sales worldwide have topped 2.68 million.
Since Toyota’s introduction of the Prius, its hybrid system has been applied to a wide range of vehicles. In Japan, Toyota even sells hybrid commercial vehicles. The brand has also been a pioneer when it comes to luxury hybrid vehicles.
As of July 31, 2010, TMC calculates that TMC hybrid vehicles2, since 1997, have led to approximately 4 million fewer tons3 of CO2 emissions-considered to be a cause of global warming-in Japan, and approximately 15 million fewer tons globally, than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.
Moving forward, Toyota plans to expand its lineup of hybrids globally and offer them in more regions. And, not only does Toyota aim to sell a greater volume of hybrid vehicles, but the automaker may also introduce a hybrid variant for every model in its lineup by 2020.
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