Toyota Prius sales top one million units worldwide

With gas prices surging its no wonder fuel efficient alternatives are sell better than ever. Toyota today (May 15) announced that sales of their Prius model have topped one million units globally.

More than 10,000 Canadians have picked the award-winning Toyota Prius – the world’s best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle – as their environmentally responsible choice for personal transportation. Those Canadians join many other environmentally conscious drivers world wide, pushing global Prius sales to more than one million vehicles since Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) introduced the model in 1997.

“Toyota’s commitment to environmental stewardship stretches back over four decades, and it was this belief in sustainable transportation that guided our development of the Prius. We are pleased that so many Canadians have joined others worldwide to make the first mass produced hybrid vehicle successful, and a global icon for environmentally responsible personal mobility,” said Yoichi Tomihara, President and CEO of Toyota Canada Inc. “The commercial and critical success of the Prius has paved the way for TMC to further develop other hybrid models such as the popular Toyota Camry Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid, as well as hybrid editions of a number of Lexus vehicles.”

The Prius went on sale in Canada as a compact car in 2000. Followed by the current generation in 2003, resulting in Canadian sales reaching 11,051 vehicles at the beginning of May. For the past eight consecutive years, the Prius has won an ecoENERGY for vehicle award administered by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy.

Toyota now sells more low-emission, fuel-efficient Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles in a single month than we did in the first three years that we offered this vehicle in Canada.  “One quarter of all Canadian Prius sales have been recorded in the past year, demonstrating that this vehicle continues to attract those concerned about how they can make things better for the environment, while still enjoying the freedom and utility that the Prius delivers,” observed Mr. Tomihara. “As TMC looks to the future we are preparing to launch hybrid editions across our model line-up – from the subcompact car to the pick up truck – over the next 10 years”.