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.
Toyota City, Japan, February 22, 2017―Toyota Motor Corporation is proud to announce cumulative global hybrid vehicle (HV) sales of 10.05 million units as of January 31, surpassing the 10 million unit mark1. 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.
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.
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 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.
For further information on Toyota’s commitment to the envrioment, visit: http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/environmental_technology/hv10million/