Toyota says global hybrid sales surpassed 9 million units

Published on May 27, 2016 in News by Brad Diamond

Toyota says global sales of its hybrid powertrain vehicles have surpassed nine million units globally, with more than 120,000 sold in Canada.

After selling just 300 hybrids in 1997, the first year the automaker sold vehicles powered by a combination of conventional gas engines and electric motors, cumulative sales broke the nine-million unit mark just nine months after Toyota achieved eight million sold.

Toyota sells 33 hybrid vehicles and one plug-in electric model around the globe, including four variations of the Prius, and hybrid versions of the Camry sedan and Highlander and RAV4 crossovers in Canada.

It hopes to hit cumulative hybrid sales of 15 million units by 2020.

Toyota claims that as of April 30, the use of Toyota hybrid vehicles has resulted in approximately 67 million fewer tons of carbon emissions compared to conventional gas vehicles.

It also estimates that its hybrid vehicles have saved approximately 25 million kilolitres of gasoline compared to gasoline-powered vehicles.