Toyota Motor Corp. announced on May 15, 2008, that worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius passed the one million mark at the end of April 2008. Globally 1,027,700 units were sold, of which 315,000 units were sold domestically and 712,700 units were sold overseas.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline/electric vehicle, was launched in Japan in 1997 and was released in Europe, North America and other markets since 2000. Currently, Prius sales are robust in more than 40 countries and regions, particularly in Japan and North America. The number sold in 2007 exceeded 280,000 units, which is a 51 percent increase over the previous year.

Having achieved a fuel efficiency of 35.5km/l in the previous 10-15 mode test, the current Prius model is one of the first vehicles to meet the new 2015 Japanese fuel efficiency standards established under the Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy. Toyota estimates that the Prius vehicles sold worldwide to date have contributed to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 4.5 million tons when compared to gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.

Toyota began overseas production of the Prius in China in 2005 and is now planning to produce it in North America. With active efforts to promote hybrid vehicle systems chiefly through the Prius, Toyota aims to globally establish a system for producing hybrid vehicles and to sell one million or more hybrid vehicles annually as soon as possible.

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/08/0515.html
- Toyota Hybrid Sales Top 500,000 Units Worldwide (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1326-e

Posted: 2008/09/18 10:16:03 AM

TAG Eco-product/Business , Energy , Manufacturing industry , Transportation