Toyota delivers three millionth hybrid electric vehicle in Europe
Toyota has now sold three million hybrid electric vehicles in Europe, building on its heritage as the first company to offer mass, affordable electrification to customers and cutting vehicle emissions across the continent.
Toyota’s full hybrid cars (including Lexus – a division of Toyota Motor Corporation) have helped the brand remain at the top of the CO2 reduction charts for mass market manufacturers.
The landmark car was a British-built Corolla GR Sport hybrid, bought by customer Nicolás Jiménez from Madrid in Spain.
President and CEO of Toyota Spain, Miguel Carsi, was present at the handover of the new Corolla hybrid GR Sport at the Toyota Retailer Comauto Sur in Madrid.
He said: “For Toyota Spain, it is a great honour to deliver the three millionth hybrid electric vehicle. Following our rapid hybrid growth, we are excited to see that customers looking for cars with more sports appeal are also considering hybrid electric powertrains. This underlines their confidence that our hybrid technology can deliver the necessary driving pleasure and performance.”
Toyota started selling hybrid electric vehicles in Europe in 2000 with Prius. Today, customers can choose from a range of 20 different HEV models across the Toyota and Lexus brands, which in 2019 accounted for 52 per cent of the total sales volume, and 63 per cent in Western Europe.
Toyota’s long-term strategy to focus on hybrid electric powertrains across the majority of its range has allowed the company to become the leader in meeting ever tougher emissions regulations in Europe. Our full hybrid technology, now in its fourth generation, is incredibly effective at running without tailpipe emissions, particularly in urban environments.
“Three million hybrid electric vehicle sales is an important milestone as it highlights the mass appeal that our hybrids have with customers, ” said Matt Harrison, Executive Vice President of TME. “Our hybrid sales success puts Toyota well on track to meeting the 95g/km target set by the EU commission for 2020 and 2021 in Europe.”
Worldwide the company has already sold more than 15 million full hybrid vehicles, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes globally. The Toyota hybrid technology is also the foundation of Toyota’s multi-powertrain electrification strategy which includes BEV, PHEV and FCEV.