Toyota celebrates hybrid milestone

Toyota New Zealand says Kiwis are embracing hybrids – as the number of vehicles carrying the brand’s technology hits 5-million worldwide.

Toyota says that in the last 11 months it has sold a record-breaking million hybrid vehicles globally, bringing a world total of hybrids sold to 5,125,600 – including 5,500 in New Zealand.

The company claims five million plus hybrids sold have saved approximately 12 billion litres of petrol, and led to around 34 million fewer tons of CO2 being emitted when compared with petrol powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.

After releasing its first hybrid vehicle in Japan in 1997, Toyota took almost 10 years to reach one million sales, however demand for the environmentally-friendly vehicles has increased exponentially ever since. hybrids now account for 14% of Toyota’s global vehicle sales and 40 per cent of its sales in Japan.

In New Zealand, the number of hybrids sold is growing fast. Toyota’s sales in 2012 totalled 1222, more than 25% up on the 970 hybrids sold in 2011 and well over double 2009’s 523 sales.

Interest in the vehicles – especially from corporate clients looking for a more sustainable, cost-effective fleet – is growing, says Toyota New Zealand general manager of sales & operations, Steve Prangnell.

“Although 5,500 hybrid vehicles sold doesn’t sound like a lot, proportionally it’s about the same as countries such as Australia, Canada and England,” Prangnell says.

“Our hybrids are now mainstream with such a strong uptake of the technology by customers – especially now that the cars boast fantastic performance on top of great fuel efficiency.”

In New Zealand, the most popular Toyota hybrid is the Prius, followed by the Camry hybrid which is manufactured in Australia.