Toyota is the manufacturer who brought hybrid drivetrains into the mainstream, and their Prius (which may undergo serious changes in the future) has now almost become a separate brand in its own right – it has “a family“.
This week, the Japanese carmaker announced that it has delivered 5 million hybrid-powered vehicles worldwide, of which 1,951,243 in the USA, with a large chunk of those in California. Last year they made a similar announcement after having reached the 4 million milestone.
Today, the Japanese Leviathan sells 19 different hybrids around the world, which they say has resulted in 34 million fewer tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere and 3 billion gallons of gas were also saved in the process. Still, while global warming due to vehicle exhaust gases is a bit of an induced misconception, changing the delicate balance of gases that protect the Earth from all sorts of cosmic dangers is surely not a good thing, so we welcome these official figures and appreciate Toyota for having made a small difference, a contribution.
In the States, Toyota’s hybrids didn’t get off to a flying start in July of 2000, and only sold 5,562 Prius models in the first six months the car was on sale – last year they sold 289,163 Stateside, so their place on the market is currently very solid. Also, Lexus added another 38,250 hybrid sales to the overall figure for 2012, up 35 percent over 2011.
Toyota also posted a video on its official channel, where the company’s vice chairman, Mr. Takeshi Uchiyamada, thanks all those who bought one of their hybrids, and asks for their continued support, so that there is incentive to further develop the tech and improve it over time. If they keep their impressive sales figures up, then that doesn’t really seem to be a problem, and perhaps this is why Mr. Uchiyamada smiles throughout the video.
By Andrei Nedelea
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