Toyota’s hybrid vehicle sales passes the four million mark

Toyota’s hybrid vehicle sales passes the four million mark

Toyota’s global cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles have topped the four million mark as of April 30 2012. TMC calculates that since 1997, its hybrid vehicles have led to approximately 26 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions being emitted, compared to if those cars were normal cars of similar size and performance.

It all started in 1997, when Toyota launched the Coaster Hybrid EV in August and the first ever Prius. The latter was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger vehicle and sales began in North America and Europe in 2000.

Toyota’s hybrid vehicle sales passes the four million mark

The second-gen Prius came in 2003. By now Toyota’s hybrid system was used on minivans, SUVs, RWD sedans and compact hatchbacks. The third-gen Prius launched in May 2009 was well received around the world, leading to cumulative sales of Toyota’s hybrids topping three million by the end of February 2011.

Fast forward and Toyota currently sells 18 hybrid passenger vehicle models in around 80 countries worldwide. This year, hybrid cars have accounted for 15% of TMC’s global sales. With the Yaris Hybrid scheduled for launch in Europe and the Lexus ES 300h for the USA, figures are bound to grow.

Toyota’s hybrid vehicle sales passes the four million mark

Toyota sells the Prius and Prius c in Malaysia. Click here to read all about the duo.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

Certified Pre-Owned - 1 Year Warranty

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Gabla on May 23, 2012 at 11:42 am

    Proud to be part of the statistic with the Prius C.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Bimmer on May 23, 2012 at 12:24 pm

      Good value for money. Slightly more expensive than Ford Fiesta but offers similar features, at least you get a better after sales service from UMW.

      Full hybrid solution compared to Jazz hybrid which means better fuel economy and air-cond still works even when the engine is turned off.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Tony Montana on May 23, 2012 at 1:41 pm

      Yeah, prepare to fork out RM8k ++ for a new battery.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Kiddo on May 23, 2012 at 3:23 pm

        but none has ever reported about replacing the battery since the first Prius was on sale. Toyota’s reliability is no joke.

        Btw, i smell jealousy, do you?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Gabla on May 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm

        Well, if I can afford to buy a small car for around RM 100k, I don’t see it will be a problem to change the battery after 8 years of ownership.

        Afterall I will spend more for the normal maintenance of my BMW in the same period of time.

        I see the Prius C as my daily city car, no point for me to burn fuel in traffic jams when I could spend the money on something else.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • paparadzi on May 23, 2012 at 4:15 pm

        After 8 years, I will not be changing the battery. I will change the car for a newer technology.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Welcome to the future bro…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Still waiting for my prius c white color,,,,dealer say have wait 2-3 month as the car sold out even in japan and us very low stock.

      I test drive jazz hybrid but it was far behind toyota in term of hybrid technology. Jazz hybrid are underpowered as well as expensive 5km interval service. Toyota 10km service hence frequent visit to sc.

      Fiesta after 1 years then problems will come out. Resale value will drop…….

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Everything sounds very reasonable, until you mention “Resale value will drop”…

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • flat_tire on May 23, 2012 at 6:51 pm

        5km interval service..? that’s like 5 times visit to the service center as i head for work everyday.. provided that there are 5 of them along the way..

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Some good fairy tales about green car here:

    1. When the hell Protongkat gonna bring its hybrid car like EMAss? Winning top UK hybrid car competition got any impact at all? With broken power window switched off, Protongkat hybrids should get more battery power isn’t it???

    2. Where is that dude with Hydrofuel water car engine? “Just Add Water” crap tech stuff? Isn’t it supposed to solve the problem of high petrol price when Pak Lah let petrol RM2.70 price? Those fuel subsidy savings allocated for green car tech, the hell it is now?

    3. Zero duty tax for hybrid cars…really? So far hybrid cars on average it’s RM25K more expensive than most retail price directly imported CIF from Japan. Or just grace period for Protongkat later to price their hybrid RM25K cheaper thus ‘appear’ artificially better buy than Japanese brands??

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Can’t complain too much…our prius c is high spec version…… in us prius c is much expensive than altis….

      so 97k is still bargains… for hybrid toyota……

      yes our gov is corrupts but still is a good bargain…..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Not a car enthusiast on May 23, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    Danny and the gang, maybe you could also be proactive for the local scene. Gather data on how many diesel trucks / busses / lorries etc are sold each year in Malaysia. Multiply this number with % of soot, CO2 emmisions coming out of them.

    Now compared this data if a EURO 4 diesel is used. The diferrence could be used as rallying points for readers here (and at large) to push the Gov for greener fuel.

    In the effort to save mother earth, every little things count. So let us do our part.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Wisdom on May 23, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    The larger market share comes at a cost. Endless complaint on their hybrid flagship Prius, even on the latest 2012 model:
    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/toyota_prius.html

    However here in Malaysia, sure people continue to talk good on their toyotas and hide the complaints/claims/repairs. They cant live without resale value. Thumb me down and keep protecting your toyota. One day you’ll realize owning a satisfying car is far better than being protective and follow the crowd….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Kiddo on May 23, 2012 at 3:39 pm

      well, i have to admit that I’m a supporter for Toyota’s hybrid models, especially the Prius C, which is made for the public. For 90k, I can’t help but think that I rather get it when compared side to side with other cars, even their own Vios.

      People don’t purposely talk good about Toyotas. There must be some kinda reason behind it, and I believe reliability, ease-to-drive, non-extreme-characteristics of the cars, fuel consumption and brand image are a big part of it.

      Resale value might not be too important for some but when people are buying cars using sense and rationality, Toyotas are usually in the list as they fulfill what I’ve just listed just now.

      SO, instead of saying people are protecting Toyotas and talking good about them blindly, why not mirror yourself and think, “Why do you always have to talk bad about Toyota?”

      Peace.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Wisdom on May 24, 2012 at 12:46 pm

        Because too much toyota on the road is boring…

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • kiddo on May 24, 2012 at 7:52 pm

          boring is one thing, reliable or n

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • kiddo on May 24, 2012 at 7:59 pm

          Boring is one thing, reliable or not is another thing. A boring car doesn’t make it a bad car. Please be more rational and professional when commenting. Btw, i don’t see Perodua, Isuzu, Tata, Fiat, Chery, Cadillac, Opel, Land Rover, Volvo and so many more as ‘exciting’ car makers, but that doesn’t mean they make bad cars.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Low2215 on May 23, 2012 at 4:43 pm

      Dude , thats a complain website , you will only find complains for every possible imagine thing , even cars like lexus get tons of complains .

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Lol yeah. In fact, according to that complaint website, Toyota Prius gets higher ratings (less negative ratings/complaints) compared to Honda… or even BMW and Mercedez!!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Objectivity on May 23, 2012 at 8:24 pm

      According to that same website, Honda, BMW and Mercedez also have very bad ratings. If you compare Prius ratings to Honda/BMW/Mercedez, in fact Prius garnered more positive ratings than negative ones!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Good. But can we also count how much radioactive being emitted during the process of producing the battery???

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Low2215 on May 23, 2012 at 10:05 pm

      Then u have to begin to calculate how much energy is used to extract oil , consider the environmental effect of oil spill ( BP ) , sunken tankers
      At least battery is a recycle material ..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • alldisc on May 24, 2012 at 6:45 pm

      what about mobile phone batteries? or laptops?
      there are billions of them produced over the past 10 years.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Kiddo on May 23, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    No other hybrid system works the same way as the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive. It’s one of the most advanced systems if not the most advanced!

    The technology is at least 10 years ahead of its competitors.

    Since Lexus is part of Toyota, there should also be the RX450h and LS600hL on sale in Malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Yep, that system’s going onto BMW’s of the future as well.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • skypirate on May 23, 2012 at 5:40 pm

        No, you are wrong. BMW is not using Toyota’s HSD system, they are using something similar called the Global Hybrid Cooperation (GHC), where it’s developed by BMW, GM, Daimler and Chrysler. However, according to the US Presidential Task Force on Auto Industry in 2009, the GHC is at least one generation behind Toyota’s HSD.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • Well, you might be sad to hear this..

          Toyota betrayed you and agreed to a technology swap with BMW, Toyota hybrid for BMW’s diesel engine. Long live Toyota!

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
          • skypirate on May 23, 2012 at 7:19 pm

            Wrong again. That agreement with BMW is on lithium-ion battery research that is seen as a key in electric cars, not hybrid systems.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
          • Sam Loo on May 23, 2012 at 9:54 pm

            You seem to be the only one that has done enough reading on this topic. Good on you

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • mamat on May 23, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    although got EMAS….duyung….etc…but never on sale locally!. cakap pun tidak guna…hv to rely on these imported hybrid.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Which one of these RM8K part replacements worth the money after 10 years?
    (Petrol cost not included but hey, very obvious which one spend less eh?)

    1. To replace Prius battery for next 10 years? Or,
    2. To replace Protongkat faulty parts never-ending repairs still ngik-ngik-ngok-ngok sounds even after install??

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • fik sai kar on Feb 21, 2013 at 10:40 am

    toyota is the best! trust me

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

Add a comment

required

required