Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has announced that cumulative global sales of its hybrid vehicles topped the five million unit mark as of March 31, reaching 5.125 million units.

Nobuyuki Negishi, chief representative of Mena Representative Office, TMC, said, “Having pioneered this category, Toyota continues to set the benchmark for hybrid vehicles. Environmentally conscious customers today want to use the most fuel-efficient and cleanest vehicle that meets their needs and budget and Toyota is responding to their needs with a wide range of hybrid vehicles.

“From our perspective, hybrid vehicles are definitely going mainstream and this is having a positive impact on our sales as customers place their trust in Toyota’s innovative technology and hybrid car expertise.”

TMC vice chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, who was responsible for development of the first-generation Prius, said: “We developed the first-generation Prius with the aim of making it a car for the twenty-first century and as an indication of Toyota’s response to environmental issues.”

“We had to develop a hybrid system from scratch, making our task extremely difficult. Nevertheless, we took on the challenge. The launch of the first-generation Prius had effects beyond our expectations, with the vehicle increasing consumer environmental awareness and raising hybrid vehicle expectations.

“The understanding of consumers at launch time laid the foundation for the widespread adoption, and, since then, consumers have continued to support TMC hybrid vehicles,” he added.

Last year, hybrid vehicles accounted for 14 percent of TMC’s global vehicle sales and 40 per cent of its vehicle sales in Japan.

As of this month, TMC sells 19 hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid model in approximately 80 countries and regions around the world, and between now and December 2015, TMC will launch a total of 18 new hybrid vehicles worldwide and is committed to augmenting its product lineup even further and increasing the number of countries and regions where it sells hybrid vehicles.

TMC said that as of March 31, TMC hybrid vehicles have resulted in approximately 34 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.

TMC also estimated that its hybrid vehicles have saved approximately 12 million kiloliters of gasoline compared to the amount used by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size. – TradeArabia News Service