drive
Toyota sells 8 million hybrid cars
The Prius is Toyota’s emblematic model and showcases the brand's hybrid technology. – Toyota pic, August 25, 2015.Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has announced having sold more than eight million hybrid vehicles around the world. The announcement comes 20 years after having presented its first hybrid technology concept-car.
Toyota introduced its first concept, Prius, back in the fall of 1995 during the Tokyo Motor Show. The first prototype had difficulty going for more than 1,600 feet.
It was only two years later that the brand was able to reveal its first hybrid model vehicle with both combustion and electric engine in December 1997.
The Prius was first sold exclusively in Japan before becoming available worldwide in 2000.
It was only in 2007 that the group crossed the symbolic one million hybrid vehicles sold. Sales of Toyota's hybrid models progressed steadily year after year until reaching the eight million marker.
Nearly 3.9 million cars were sold solely in Japan, 2.8 million in North America, 930,000 in Europe and a little over 440,000 in the rest of the world. The numbers include sales of the Lexus model, the high-end division of the brand.
The emblematic Prius is the most popular model with more than 3.5 million units sold around the world.
More than ever active in the development of new hybrid solutions, Toyota also continues to explore alternative options.
At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, the brand exhibited a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) that has since turned into the Mirai, hydrogen-fueled without any CO2 emissions and more than 480 km of autonomy.
Launched in Japan at the end of 2014, the vehicle will soon be distributed to the United States and in certain European countries (UK, Germany and Denmark) starting September 2015. After the sedan, other forms of the fuel cell vehicle, for crossovers or SUVs, are being designed at Toyota.
The next Frankfurt Motor Show will be the perfect occasion to admire the fourth generation Prius.
The 66th Frankfurt International Motor Show will take place from the September 17-27 2015. – AFP Relaxnews, August 25, 2015.
Please note that you must sign up with disqus.com before commenting. And, please refrain from comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature and note that comments can be edited, rewritten for clarity or to avoid questionable issues. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments