Toyota’s May 2008 sales figures for the company’s technology leading Hybrid vehicles show that global sales of Toyota Hybrids have passed the 1.5 million mark.
Key to this achievement has been the global acceptance of the Prius as a true high volume model within the Toyota vehicle range. With rampant global fuel costs and a more intense focus on reduced emissions the demand for Toyota’s trend-setting petrol/electric hybrid is robust in more than 40 countries around the world.
In 1997 Toyota Motor Corporation became the first vehicle manufacturer to introduce a viable hybrid vehicle into the general market when it launched the Prius Hybrid, first in Japan and then into global markets. The Prius became available in South Africa in 2005 with initial sales of 15 units a month. Upward pressure on fuel prices and a greater awareness of environmental issues has seen the demand for the Prius rise to 30 units a mont
h in Mzansi, resulting in a back order position of up to three months.
In North America, the Camry Hybrid, released late in 2006, has achieved sales of 125 053 units in just two years. Toyota has also introduced its Hybrid vehicle technology to the luxury Lexus brand with the Lexus RX400h achieving sales of 123 363 sales since its introduction in late 2005. The Lexus GS450h, LS600h and LS600hL were recently added to the Lexus hybrid range.
To meet global demand for hybrid vehicles, particularly the Prius, Toyota has expanded production of this model outside of Japan with production in Changchun, China, initiated in 2005. The Prius global market will expand further with the anticipated introduction of this model in South Korea in the latter half of 2009.
Toyota regards response to environmental issues as a priority management issue. As such the company has made a concerted effort to popularise hybrid vehicle systems and is positioned to continue to find ways to utilise its advanced hybrid technology in new applications and to widen its hybrid vehicle range and achieve annual sales of 1 million hybrid vehicles as we enter the second decade of the 21st century.
The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive® system used to power the Prius has been named Green Engine of the Year in the International Engine of the Year Awards. This latest award makes the Toyota Hybrid system one of the most successful engines in the history of the awards. The Hybrid Synergy Drive® has been honoured 10 times, including achieving the title of International Engine of the Year in 2004.
The Prius is currently rated as the cleanest production family car in the world with carbon dioxide emissions of just 104 g/km. The official combined cycle fuel consumption for the Prius is 4.3 l/100 km.
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