Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced that the worldwide cumulative sales of the “Prius”, gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle passed the 3-million mark as on June 2013.
In 1997, TMC launched the Prius, which was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger car. The second generation followed in 2003, and the third generation in 2009. From the first to third generation, TMC greatly reduced the cost of the hybrid system by two-thirds and increased fuel efficiency from 28 km/L to 38 km/L*. In addition to this, TMC also applied for 1,261 patents relating to the third-generation Prius, achieving progress worthy of the Prius name (derived from a Latin word meaning “to go before”).
The third generation Prius was launched in India in 2010. Since becoming the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle in 1997, the Prius has received worldwide acclaim.
Since the development of the first-generation Prius, TMC has positioned hybrid technology as a core technology required for the development of various types of environment-friendly vehicles and has placed emphasis on the development and production of core components such as motors, inverters, batteries and electronic control units (ECUs).
TMC will continue to conduct R&D for the development of hybrid and other cutting-edge technologies and achieve sustainable growth by deploying these technologies across the globe.
Last year, hybrid vehicles accounted for 14 percent of TMC’s global vehicle sales and 40 percent of its vehicle sales in Japan. As of this month, TMC sells 19 hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid model in approximately 80 countries and regions around the world, and between now and December 2015, TMC will launch a total of 18 new hybrid vehicles worldwide and is committed to augmenting its product lineup even further and increasing the number of countries and regions where it sells hybrid vehicles. This expansion is based on TMC’s ultimate objective of promoting hybrid vehicles as a mass market adoption option and its underlying philosophy that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have a positive impact if they are used and experienced widely.
Toyota Prius Sales (based on TMC data)
|
|
First Generation |
Second Generation |
Third Generation*2 |
Cumulative Total |
||
|
(Dec.1997–Aug. 2003) |
(Sep. 2003–Dec. 2011*1) |
(Since May 2009) |
(Dec. 1997–May 2013) |
|||
|
Total |
123,000 |
1,192,000 |
1,688,000 |
3,002,000*3 |
||
|
|
Japan |
65,000 |
360,000 |
899,000 |
1,325,000 |
|
|
Outside Japan |
57,000 |
831,000 |
788,000 |
1,677.000*3 |
||
|
|
North America |
52,000 |
683,000 |
600,000 |
1,335,000*3 |
|
|
Europe |
4,000 |
123,000 |
134,000 |
262,000 |
||
|
Other |
500 |
24,000 |
53,000 |
79,000 |
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| *1With the launch in Japan of the third-generation Prius in May 2009, the second-generation Prius was sold as the “Prius EX”. Production ended in December 2011; *2Prius only (not including the “Prius α / Prius v / Prius +”, “Aqua / Prius c” or the “Prius PHV”); *3Sum of cumulative total through the end of May 2013 and June sales volume in the United States. |
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*Measured using the 10-15 test cycle of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism